Behind the Scenes: PDX's New Roof Moves Into Place

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Published November 17, 2022

A few of the new roof “cassettes” that PDX’s partners moved into place this fall.

Over the past two years, we've shown you drawings of the new main terminal's curvy wood roof. We've taken photos and videos to show those drawings come to life. Filmmaker Dawn Jones Redstone has even filmed a 60-second movie, now screening once an hour at the Hollywood Theatre’s 17-seat cinema in Concourse C.

This fall, while most of us are asleep, the roof has been moving into place—without disrupting flights at PDX.

Sunny Lewis, a project engineer on Hoffman Skanska JV's roof structure team, is a member of the crew that arrives at the airport after dark, night after night. Working on the prefabrication yard west of the terminal, she says, the team has divided the new main terminal's nine-acre wood roof into 18 "cassettes."

Starting on August 25, 2022, Sunny and her crew have used hydraulic jacks to lift each cassette to its target altitude of 55 feet above ground. A self-propelled modular transport ("SPMT" to the team, "giant red space-age machine" to anyone who spots it from afar) drives the cassette over to its future spot. There, the construction teams bolt it to the tops of giant Y columns.

It takes an average of three days to move and secure each cassette, and the team estimates the 14th, and final, one will move into place in early January. (Four remaining roof cassettes will be installed in 2024.)

Aerial shot of the roof in late October, after 6 of the 18 cassettes were placed.

The new roof isn’t just a construction feat on its own: It represents the halfway point for the five-year-long airport expansion project. Sunny sees it as an exciting new phase in the work: We'll now start to see more and more of what the terminal is going to look like.

Finishing the Roof Construction

For the past year, we've built a nine-acre roof on a prefabrication lot to the northwest of the airport. The construction crews are now installing the last component—an intricate wood lattice, sourced from sustainable Northwest forests, that will eventually cover the interior ceiling.

What you'll see: If you drive along Marine Boulevard, you can glimpse the roof's dramatic swoops in the prefab lot.

Demolishing the Last of the Clocktower Plaza

Spring and early summer

Behind all those partitions in the pre-security area, construction crews have been hollowing out the back half of the main terminal. Starting in March, the exterior structure is also coming down to create a more open, spacious footprint. It may get noisy for a few months!

What you'll see: Not much, in fact. But when you’re in the ticket lobby and going through security, you may hear and feel what’s happening on the other side of those partitions. We're strategizing ways to counteract the sound, including free earplugs at the front doors and a sensory room in Concourse D.

Installing the Y Columns

Summer

Next, we’re erecting 34 giant steel Y-shaped columns to hold up the roof. Right now, construction crews are driving steel pilings deep into the ground to anchor these columns. Over the course of a few months, we’ll erect the Y columns one by one.

What you'll see: You probably won't notice—most are going up overnight behind the temporary walls. Late-night travelers will occasionally have to walk a few yards around an installation site.

Moving the Roof Into Place

Mid-Summer Through Early Fall

Once the biggest section of the wood roof is fully assembled, the project team will break it back down into 20 "cassettes". During the summer and fall, Hoffman-Skanska and Mammoet will maneuver each cassette into place over the existing roof. It will take several days to place each cassette, and the work will happen overnight — depending on the section we’re placing, we may guide late-night travelers around a short detour.

What you'll see: Unless you're flying into PDX on a late-night flight, or camped out on Marine Drive at 2 a.m., you won't see much. If you walk to the ends of Concourse C or Concourse D and look back toward the main terminal, you'll catch a glimpse of the airport's new roofline.

Adding More of What We Love

Bonuses

In addition to the big projects, you’ll see a host of new amenities appear throughout the airport. A new play area in Concourse E. New art. New restaurants and cafes. (Lardo! Screen Door! Good Coffee!) You're almost guaranteed to encounter something new every time you visit the airport — and we're not talking barricades.