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Portland International Airport鈥檚 timber-centric main terminal building is now scheduled to open in August after a series of construction incidents led to a three-day shutdown of the $2.15 billion project and a safety reset.

The project鈥檚 contractor, a joint venture of Portland-based Hoffman Construction and international construction giant Skanska, stopped work from Feb. 23 to Feb. 25. The halt was driven by 鈥渃lose calls鈥� that resulted in no injuries, Vince Granato, the Port of Portland鈥檚 chief projects officer, previously said.

Since the construction pause, safety has improved, said Joe Schneider, a Skanska senior vice president who serves with the joint venture.

鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing a significant improvement in the safety on the job,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 improved the morale of the workers.鈥�

The project presents a challenging, dynamic construction site for Hoffman Skanska Joint Venture and dozens of subcontractors.

鈥淭his is one of the few 鈥� if not the only 鈥� projects where you鈥檙e building an airport on top of an airport,鈥� said Allison Ferr茅, spokesperson for the Port of Portland.

When finished, the terminal will be capable of serving 35 million passengers annually, Ferr茅 said. In many cases, they鈥檒l be getting their first glimpse of Pacific Northwest timber at the airport.

Workers have spent nearly five million craft hours on site, Ferr茅 said. Every day, approximately 950 workers help to build the airport鈥檚 signature terminal.

Workers are currently focusing on flooring, lighting fixtures, security lanes, ticket counters and other interior finishes. Arriving and departing passengers can catch glimpses of the ongoing construction.

On a recent tour behind the curtains, TSA desks were covered in plastic and some of the terminal building鈥檚 much-publicized mass timber could be seen. Escalators stood still in varying states of assembly. White oak flooring from Zena Forest Products was being installed.

Contractors worked around the functioning airport in part by prefabricating elements off-site, most notably the 9,000-ton, 9-acre roof, which was moved into place in September 2022.

鈥淎 lot of what we鈥檝e done is prefabrication,鈥� Schneider said. 鈥淲ork that鈥檚 completed near site or adjacent to site is safer; it lends to better quality and usually there鈥檚 a benefit to the schedule.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檝e done that with the big roof structure but other, smaller items as well, like mechanical-electrical,鈥� he said.

The stakes are high for the terminal project, a massive infrastructure undertaking meant to improve the airport鈥檚 seismic resiliency and passenger flow. It鈥檚 also a key chapter for the Pacific Northwest mass-timber industry, which is seeking to demonstrate wood products can be used safely, appealingly and within budget on a large-scale public project.

The project鈥檚 heavy use of regionally and ethically sourced timber is a story that Port authorities and project participants are eager to tell. In fact, the terminal building will include 2.6 million board feet of mass timber, and glulam beams account for 370,000 board feet of Douglas fir.

For the project鈥檚 small suppliers, winning contracts has paved the way for business expansions.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a phenomenal opportunity for us to showcase our products and Oregon white oak in the project,鈥� said Ben Deumling, president of Zena Forest Products.

Zena had to retool its mill to manufacture the flooring used in the project.

鈥淲e basically invested in our facility, in this technology, thanks to the Port of Portland choosing to invest in us,鈥� Deumling said. 鈥淕etting this job was a game changer for us.鈥�

Zena鈥檚 flooring product is made from sticks that otherwise have little value.

鈥淲e鈥檙e able to take small-diameter, low-quality logs and turn it into these tiles that have a lot of value and store carbon for generations,鈥� Deumling said.

Zena鈥檚 wood comes from family-owned forestland near Rickreall, as well as other Willamette Valley sources, Deumling said.

Yakama Forest Products, an enterprise of the Washington tribe, provided the glulam beams. The wood comes from near the reservation in White Swan, in central Washington, where the tribe manages the forest without clearcuts, and with a long-term view toward sustainability.

鈥淲e鈥檙e managing it more for our resources, for our foods and for our space,鈥� said Cristy Fiander, resource manager for Yakama Forest Products. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where our water is stored. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 so important for us to manage our forestlands.鈥�

From the start, designers ZGF and Terrapin Bright Green have focused on biophilic design principles that bring as much of the outdoors inside as possible. Natural light filtering in through windows and ceilings plays an important role. Screens will display soothing nature scenes. And some 70 trees 鈥� although not native species 鈥� will lend a sense of the outdoors inside the terminal.

Designers learned that native Pacific Northwest trees can鈥檛 survive indoors.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to grow trees that aren鈥檛 healthy trees,鈥� Ferr茅 said.

Instead, the trees are coming from Florida.