Airport Way

Transportation Improvements

The Airport Way Urban Renewal Area has, perhaps to a greater degree than any of PDC's other ten urban renewal districts, used public investments in transportation infrastructure projects as the vehicle to open up new real estate for redevelopment, job creation and a significantly improved tax base. From 1994 to 2001, $30.4 million was invested in the public improvements in the area. This, combined with the private investment, helped generate a $516.7 million increase in assessed value by 2001.

Airport Way Widening and Extension

The transportation investment with the greatest impact on growth and development in the district was the $25 million Airport Way road improvement. This project was a widening of Airport Way from two to four lanes from I-205 to NE 138th Avenue, along with new medians and traffic controls and the 4.3 mile roadway extension to the city limits at NE 185th Avenue. This opened up roughly 1,000 acres of new land for development and has resulted in millions of dollars in private investment including new warehouse, distribution, manufacturing, and office facilities.

MAX Light Rail Extension

In 1999, PDC partnered with TriMet, the Port of Portland, the City of Portland and a partnership consisting of the Bechtel Corporation as General Partner and the Trammell Crow Company, to design and build a $125 million, 5.5 mile extension of the MAX line from the Gateway Transit Center to the Portland Airport. Along with the light rail line, the parties also built the Cascade Station infrastructure improvements which included the new interchange and overpass over Airport Way, Cascades Parkway and the pedestrian-oriented park blocks and two new light rail stations. The new "Red Line" currently carries more than 3,000 passengers daily and helps PDX retain its reputation as one of the best and most "user-friendly" airports in the US.

Secondary Arterial Improvements

PDC also partnered with the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation and the Oregon Department of Transportation to design and construct a series of other roadway improvements in the district to facilitate smoother trucking movements and enhance access to all areas of the district. This work included replacing culverts with new bridges over the Columbia Slough on both NE 148th & NE 158th Avenues, reconstruction of NE Clark Road and improvements to the NE Holman/105th intersection to provide an essential east-west connector to the industrial district and Cascade Station.

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