The transit agency has secured the south Salem property after more than two decades of planning, but the final cost, route plan and construction schedule remain unsettled.
Cherriots has purchased roughly 5.7 acres at the northeast corner of Commercial Street SE and Wiltsey Road SE, securing the site for a South Salem Transit Center that has been discussed for more than two decades.
The acquisition moves the project beyond site selection, but several major questions remain unanswered. Cherriots announced July 16 that it had purchased roughly 5.7 acres at the northeast corner of Commercial Street SE and Wiltsey Road SE, securing the site for a South Salem Transit Center discussed for more than two decades.
Cherriots said the current project phase totals $5.5 million, but that amount also includes preliminary engineering and design, outside project management, title and transaction fees.
Funding comes from the Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund, federal Community Project Funding and Cherriots’ local general fund. Public records identify more than $10 million in state and federal funding for the project. A February 2025 state transit application estimated the total cost of all project phases at $13,063,137.
Cherriots first identified the need for a south Salem transit center in 2004 and pursued site selection alongside the Keizer Transit Center, which opened in 2013. An earlier effort near the south Salem Walmart stalled after the property owner rejected Cherriots’ offer, prompting the district to abandon that location.
Planning documents call for multiple bus bays, a passenger plaza, shelters and infrastructure for electric-bus charging. Earlier concepts also described covered waiting areas, improved lighting and visibility, and designated pickup and drop-off zones. The center is envisioned as a connection point for local and regional buses, paratransit, neighborhood circulators and options such as bikes, scooters, rideshare and future microtransit service.
Exact route assignments have not been released. A 2025 regional transportation funding application reported average daily stop activity of 371.5 boardings and alightings near the project site. The application said the center would consolidate several nearby stops into one off-street transfer point.
The district also has not released an analysis of construction effects on nearby businesses or how the project could influence development along the Commercial Street corridor.
“This is a transformative step forward for south Salem riders,” Cherriots Board President Maria Hinojos Pressey said.
For now, the purchase gives Cherriots control of the site. The next consequential decisions — the final budget, route plan, construction schedule and opening date — remain ahead.
