The Port of Portland celebrates the completion of Portland International Airport’s (PDX) main terminal reconstruction project, the largest public infrastructure project in Oregon history. Over 11-years, this $2.15 billion-dollar effort modernized PDX, strengthened its seismic resilience, and cut its carbon footprint while welcoming more travelers through the airport. And remarkably, the entire project finished on-time and on-budget – without a single day of closure, so our region could keep moving.
Now, travelers are experiencing the newly complete PDX as it was always intended, with improved flow and even more local character. It reflects our commitment to celebrating PDX’s homegrown roots while creating space for local ingenuity and businesses to thrive. Together, we built the new PDX to be an even better reflection of our region in a way that welcomes every community it serves.
"From the beginning, our North Star was a new PDX that reflects our values and the people and places that make this region special,” said Curtis Robinhold, Executive Director of the Port of Portland. “The final result is a world-class airport unlike any other, shaped by local hands, local ideas, and local pride. It’s a space that belongs to all of us, and a process that we can all learn from.”
Making the PDX experience even better
As we doubled the airport’s capacity, we also doubled down on making the journey smoother and more welcoming for everyone. Every detail is a love letter to the Pacific Northwest, written by the folks who live and work here. It’s all about the local brands, the local character, and the local culture that make PDX feel like home.
Shorter, faster permanent flow. New exit lanes on the north and south sides mean shorter, more direct routes from gates, to bags, to greeting loved ones.
A smoother experience for all. More terrazzo floor throughout the main terminal makes it easier to move through the airport with strollers, wheelchairs, and rolling suitcases. More restrooms, including four new banks of all-user restrooms pre-and post-security, ensure quicker access and far less searching. Inside, travelers will discover a private and peaceful experience designed with a wide range of mobilities in mind, from individual stalls with floor-to-ceiling doors and walls, to natural light streaming from skylights.
Local options to eat, drink, and shop that set PDX apart. Oregon icons like Powell’s Books, Columbia Sportswear, and Portland Gear are operating in newly built spaces alongside fresh food options like Kure Superfoods and Lola’s Cafe, rounding out the 27 additional local brands now at home in the new PDX.
When people land at PDX, they know exactly where they are. A total of 21 new permanent and rotating art pieces rooted in the region’s culture, history, and community welcome travelers to the terminal. New permanent installations include large-scale sculptures by Indigenous artists in the entry areas, glass and ceramic tile walls near the exit lanes, and the return of legendary Portland artist Louis Bunce’s iconic 1958 Airport Mural.
Embracing the future, with a wink to PDX past. Of course, the new PDX wouldn’t have felt complete without the locally beloved retro carpet. The dye colors were adjusted seven times to get the 80s teal carpet fiber just right before installation in several prime locations throughout the new terminal.
Powered by local collaboration, creating local impact
The new PDX is more than an elevated airport experience. It’s a testament to the unparalleled level of regional collaboration that brought it to life – an effort that became a blueprint for executing big ideas while putting local communities front and center. The results can be seen throughout the terminal, but the impact reaches far beyond its walls.
From building the new PDX to filling it, we created opportunities to keep more money in local pockets.
The Port awarded more than $274 million to over 140 local small businesses. We worked with companies across the region, from Portland to Yakama to Riddle, and everywhere in between, helping them to grow, hire, and expand their expertise. And we created a full time, 22-person internal team to walk with them step by step, guiding and problem-solving together to make the most of an opportunity at this scale.
We created a launch pad for local small businesses. Our unique Concessionaire Pop-Up Program fuels opportunities for emerging, locally owned shops to gain experience operating in an airport while also drawing world-wide exposure.
Our nine-acre mass timber roof isn’t just a showstopper – it’s an economic success story. It took six years of collaboration with architects, sustainable forestry pros, multigenerational foresters, regional Tribes, and local mills who believed in balancing ecological and economic values. It was the first attempt at anything like this, and we reached targets unmatched by any other similar project in the world: 100% of the wood comes from within 300 miles of the airport, and 73% of the wood supports landowners that are Forest Stewardship Council-certified or practicing ecological forestry.
The new terminal’s famed walk through the forest design isn’t just a calming ode to the Pacific Northwest, it’s a major energy saver. These innovative touches are helping us set a new benchmark for airport sustainability.
We grew nearly 40% in size while slashing energy use per square foot in half. A key factor is Oregon's largest ground-source heat pump, that by late 2026 will heat and cool the airport, cutting the airport’s fossil fuel use by 95%.
The timber roof sequesters carbon, while about 50 skylights and a 36-foot-high window wall bring in more daylight (even under our notorious cloudy skies) to reduce the need for electrical lighting.
Our biophilic design, featuring over 70 live trees and 7,500+ plants, creates connection to nature and a calming effect, while natural materials were selected for broad environmental and indoor air quality benefits.
A new chapter for PDX
The completion of PDX’s main terminal expansion marks the end of an 11-year-long chapter – from first sketches to final touches – and the beginning of another. It also marks the culmination of PDX Next, the Port of Portland’s suite of five major construction projects that reshaped PDX, including the new rental car facility, revamped concourses, new parking structure, and more. Now, with the building phase complete, our work shifts to ongoing improvements like baggage claim upgrades to make the travel experience smoother, brighter, and a little more PDX-y.
Source: Port of Portland