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PDX Next 鈥� the ambitious, five-year, $2 billion effort to improve and expand Portland International Airport 鈥� is now in full swing. While construction of a new main terminal will surely stand out, some smaller projects 鈥� relatively speaking 鈥� also are taking place to expand passenger concourses on both the north and south sides of the airport.

Concourse E, home to Southwest Airlines, is complete. And work is moving quickly on Concourse B for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. A Hoffman Construction/Skanska USA Building joint venture is serving as the general contractor for both the main terminal project (鈥淭-Core鈥�) and Concourse B. The latter will feature 11 new passenger gates 鈥� five with raised, enclosed walkways connecting to aircraft, and six ground-level ones for smaller commuter planes.

鈥淣ormally CCB (Concourse B) would be a giant project for the Port, and it’s dwarfed by T-Core,鈥� said Scott Sparman, a construction manager for the Port of Portland. 鈥淚t’s a long overdue upgrade for these particular customers.

鈥淭he old structure was more of a temporary structure. There were some B gates up here in the existing part of the concourse that served the larger aircraft, but now we’re going to have more capacity here.鈥�

Concourse B was designed by ZGF Architects, and crews broke ground in early 2020. The structure will feature a massive amount of glazing wrapped around a stout, seismically enhanced steel framework erected by ironworkers with By Design Steel. The two-story concourse will largely function as a single story, with a wraparound upper-level walkway on the north side allowing access from the main terminal. From there, people will reach the lower level via stairs or an elevator. Food and drink will be available from businesses such as Screen Door and specialty coffee roaster Good Coffee.

鈥淲e’re still going to have the main processing of passengers in the old room there,鈥� Sparman said. 鈥淎nd then passengers are going to flow down here and get on their gates.鈥�

Right now, the new concourse is still open to the elements. But Snyder Roofing is installing the roof and Western Partitions is quickly framing the exterior walls; mechanical, electrical and plumbing work is ongoing throughout the space. Work on the building envelope is expected to finish over the summer. The Port expects the new terminal to be ready for use sometime in November.

The narrow, ground-level gates for Horizon Air that extend eastward almost seem separate from the rest of the project. But those, too, are now enclosed and undergoing MEP work.

鈥淭here are a lot of things opening this fall, so we’re going to sequence that,鈥� Sparman said. 鈥淚t does look like there’s a lot to do, but we have the hard part done. The rest of it is finishes, building envelope, and that’s coming in May. In another month this is going to look like something you could just hang out in.鈥�

Concourse B will eventually have a custom art installation crafted by Ryan Feddersen, a Native American artist based in Tacoma, Washington. Crafted entirely from wood, the installation will cover the concourse’s south wall at ground level.

So far, Sparman said, the most difficult aspect of the Concourse B project is its location. It sits between an active taxiway on the south side and TriMet‘s MAX light-rail infrastructure on the north side. Those transportation corridors have remained in full service during construction.

鈥淓recting steel (and) bringing in materials through a security checkpoint, that’s the biggest thing,鈥� he said.

鈥淚t’s not dissimilar to Concourse E, where it’s between a taxi area and a roadway,鈥� Port of Portland spokeswoman Kama Simonds added. 鈥淭here are similar constraints, just on the other side of the airport.鈥�