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John Truong Provides Inclusive, Respectful Service
We've talked about inclusive customer service before: creating an experience where all people feel valued, supported and respected. In fact, being respectful is one of our core PDX People values and we're committed to providing the same high level of service to everyone, regardless of who that person is or what their abilities might be.
Customer service award winner and Port of Portland Police Officer John Truong exemplified this value when responding to a call from the PDX Red Lot drive-thru vaccine clinic. A man, who was clearly in need of assistance, required an escort to the TriMet MAX stop. As his nominator wrote, "John was extremely gracious and went out of his way to help the gentleman with compassion and empathy."
To recognize airport employees who truly stand out as extraordinary, we'll hold the next PDX People customer service awards from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, July 27. In an exciting first, this will be a hybrid celebration with both virtual and in-person attendees! The winners in each category – along with members of our volunteer working committee – will gather in-person for lunch, while the event is also broadcast live. We'll share more details, along with the link, in the next newsletter and on the PDX People employee website.
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Security Badging Office Moves to New Location in Rental Car Center on Tuesday, July 27
Renewing your badge? Starting Tuesday, July 27, Security Badging will be located in a new office in the Rental Car Center. To get there:
- Walk through the south tunnel and take the new stairs or escalators on your right. Look for signs for the Rental Car Center and Security Badging.
- Cross the covered walkway. [After it's installed later this month, you'll pass right by Ben Butler’s artwork, "Growth," crafted from locally-sourced wood.]
- Use the door to your right to enter the building.
- Take the elevator to the fourth floor.
- Upon exiting the elevator, turn left and follow the signs to Security Badging.
IMPORTANT: To prepare for the move, Security Badging will close at noon on Thursday, July 22, and re-open in their new space at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, July 27.
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Stay Knowledgeable with Tips for Travelers
Working at PDX, you've no doubt noticed a lot of changes. And, as summer travel picks up, visitors who haven't flown in a while are noticing these changes too. You can continue providing top-notch service by helping puzzled passengers make their way through PDX with ease.
- Give yourself extra time to get to your gate.
- Make sure you follow signs to the security checkpoint matching your boarding pass.
- Masks are still required at PDX. Even if you’re vaccinated, masks are still required in airports and on airplanes.
Keep these suggestions in mind during your interactions with travelers, and help us spread the word by sharing the video with friends and family on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
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Researchers Help Make Sure PDX Stays Open After a Megaquake
"It's a pretty good day at work when you get to blow stuff up."
Those are the words of Tom Wharton, project engineer with the Port of Portland, who recently spoke with KGW about a partnership with Oregon State University's College of Engineering that was a real blast.
Researchers conducted a series of test detonations to determine how the sand and silt soils underlying the airport would respond to a “megathrust earthquake” and what ground improvements are needed to prevent liquefaction and keep the runway intact. In the end, the project is expected to save more than $35 million on work to ensure a PDX runway can survive an expected magnitude 8.0 to 9.0 Cascadia subduction zone earthquake.
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Icelandair is Back at PDX
Last week, Icelandair returned to PDX with nonstop flights to Reykjavik. Seasonal service to Iceland will operate through Oct. 31.
“We're thrilled to welcome Icelandair back to PDX,” said Director of Air Service Development David Zielke. “There's a lot of pent-up demand for travel. As cities and countries re-open and welcome back tourists, we appreciate Icelandair reestablishing the connection between Portland and Reykjavik.”
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 | Rendering of the future Blumenauer Bridge
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I-84 Closure and Bridge Installation Postponed
This just in! The planned installation of the Blumenauer Bridge and closure of I-84 for this weekend is postponed. The project team determined that there's additional coordination work to do in planning the bridge installation, which will stretch 400 feet across Sullivan’s Gulch, including over I-84 and Union Pacific Railroad tracks. We'll share a new closure date when it becomes available.
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Successful Prevention Through Design with PDX Next
Safety is the top priority for every project. From assessing the site on the front end to understanding how the end user will operate the building, safety is central to planning decisions. One method that's gaining traction and seeing incredible results – both in safety and in user experience – is prevention through design.
In this Aviation Pros article, JE Dunn Project Manager Stacey Flint describes how we facilitated prevention through design for the new Rental Car Center, identifying hazards and potential issues to improve safety even before construction commenced.
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July is Disability Pride Month
In July, we acknowledge Disability Pride month, an annual observance to promote visibility and mainstream awareness of the positive pride felt by people with disabilities. Observing this month celebrates "disability culture" with the intention to positively influence the way people think about and/or define disability and to end the stigma of disability.
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PDX in Pictures
From deconstruction to construction, much is happening right now at PDX.
The top photo captures the Clocktower Plaza demolition process. As we all know by now, the closure of Clocktower Plaza and the Concourse Connector is key to expanding the airport 150 feet to the west and bringing the new main terminal design to life. This includes building a bigger, brighter and even more neighborhood-y shopping scene for PDX, and yes, we're even bringing back a Concourse Connector in late 2023.
The bottom photo shows progress being made on the curved lattice ceiling of the future new main terminal. While you can't see it here, the story of the roof begins in local forests, where we’re taking care to sustainably source the timber in honor of the stewards of the land and our region’s crafty heritage
Right now, construction pros with Hoffman Skanska are building the structure itself in pieces – assembling 20 massive, 390-foot-long “roof modules” in the laydown yard near Portland Airport Fire and Rescue. Once they’re complete, each module will be transported across the airfield on self-propelled mobile transporters, just as we moved the Concourse Connector
Finally, they’ll be hoisted up and slid into place, almost like massive cassette tapes. This will be the biggest PDX puzzle yet – building the new roof over the busy airport. Check out this helpful animation, which visualizes a few of the most challenging steps from installing the massive Y-shaped columns to assembling the wooden roof piece by piece.
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