Welcome
The Port of Portland is sharing an update on work to bring the main runway and runway safety area at Hillsboro Airport up to current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) design standards.
The project is designed to support aircraft that currently use the airport and will not expand capacity or change the types of aircraft that can use the airport.
Members of the public are invited to one of two webinars in January 2021 (Jan. 26, 12:00 p.m. and Jan. 28, 5:30 p.m.) for a brief presentatation of the material presented here. While there is not a public comment period at this time, the webinars will provide an opportunity to ask questions of project staff. There will be a future public comment period on the draft Environmental Assessment when it is released for public review.

Runway Safety Area
The runway safety area is the area beyond the end and sides of the runway. Much like the shoulder of a road, this area provides an extra measure of safety in case an aircraft veers off or overruns the runway. FAA design standards require that the runway safety area is maintained in smooth condition.
The project would fix the slope, humps, ruts, and depressions in the safety area for the main runway (specifically Runway 13R) at Hillsboro Airport that do not meet current standards.
Currently, the northern part of the runway and the runway safety area slope downward slightly more than FAA design standards allow. There are also humps, ruts and depressions, including Glencoe Swale, that are larger than allowed by current FAA standards.
Maintaining the existing condition until such time that the project is completed provides an acceptable level of safety on Runway 13R-31L at the Hillsboro Airport and allows the airport to operate within an acceptable level of safety.

The Port of Portland worked with the FAA to develop six different design alternatives to bring the runway and runway safety area into compliance with current standards. Alternatives considered included reducing the runway length, shifting the runway location, and redirecting Glencoe swale, among other options.
More information about the alternatives evaluated and the screening results is available in the Alternatives Analysis Summary.
The project is currently scheduled to complete the draft environmental assessment and publish it for public review and comment by late spring 2021. The project would then address comments received and publish the final environmental assessment, expected by early 2022. Final design and construction is expected from 2022-2023.
NEPA Process
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
TECHNICAL INPUT | NEPA MILESTONES | COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT | |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | Previous studies, existing conditions | Purpose and need statement | |
2019 | Development of alternatives | ||
Screen range of alternatives | |||
Identify proposed action for evaluation in environmental assessment | Public Information Meeting | ||
Preliminary engineering design | |||
2020 | |||
Conduct detailed technical studies | |||
Prepare draft environmental assessment | |||
2021 | Webinars | ||
Public comment on draft environmental assessment | Draft EA Public Hearing | ||
Finalize environmental assessment | |||
Environmental permitting and regulatory agency coordination | FAA issues environmental finding | ||
2022 | NEPA PROCESS ENDS | ||
Final design | |||
2023 | |||
Construction permitting | |||
Construction |
Update on Proposed Action
The Port of Portland's initial analysis identified the design alternative that would reroute Glencoe Swale in a culvert across the runway safety area and re-grade the end of the runway as the best alternative for more detailed study in the environmental review. This alternative is now what is termed the Proposed Action.
This design was selected for best meeting all the screening criteria because it:
- Is compatible with critical design aircraft
- Does not cause safety or operational problems that are not easily resolvable
- Is reasonable from an economic standpoint and using common sense
Since the Proposed Action was identified, the project team has been working on the engineering design for the project. We are approximately 30 percent to 60 percent of the way through design of various project elements.
The team is also working on assessing the environmental impacts and benefits of the project, which will be presented in a draft environmental assessment available for review and public comment in late spring 2021. At that time we will have a public hearing and solicit public comments on the project. You can sign-up to receive project emails using the form at the bottom of this page and we will contact you when the draft environmental assessment is ready for review.
Key Elements of the Proposed Action:
- Maintains existing threshold locations
- Maintains existing 6,600-foot runway length
- Conveys Glencoe Swale under the runway safety area (RSA) in a pipe or conduit
- Regrades Runway 13R end and RSA
- The slope (grade) of the northern 500 feet of Runway 13R and its runway safety area would be adjusted to meet current FAA standards.
- With the reconfiguration of the Taxiway A1, Taxiway A2 would be removed.
- Glencoe Swale would be realigned through a 500-foot-long box culvert, 14 feet wide by 6 feet high through the runway safety area. This culvert would be designed to allow fish passage.
- A wildlife gate would be installed at each end of the culvert to keep wildlife, such as coyotes, from entering the culvert. Small wildlife, such as frogs, would be able to pass through the gates. The gates could be closed in the dry summer months and open during the wet, rainy season.
- Where fill material is needed to adjust the slope of the runway and runway safety area, material currently stored in stockpiles on the airport property would be used for a portion of the needed fill. A layer topsoil would be imported.
- Filling in portions of the Glencoe Swale floodplain may have an impact on how much rainwater the swale can hold during a heavy rain event. To offset this impact, the project will create additional areas along Glencoe Swale on the airport property to store and absorb rainwater.
- All construction work would occur within the boundary of the Hillsboro Airport. During construction, some construction vehicles would travel on local roads to haul materials.
Next steps
Thank you for visiting! Please send your questions about this information to Maureen.Minister@portofportland.com. You are also invited to attend one of two webinars (Jan. 26, 12:00 p.m. and Jan. 28, 5:30 p.m.) for a brief presentation of this information and an opportunity to ask clarifying questions. The project team will answer questions sent in advance during the webinars and will post responses to clarifying questions on the project website following the webinars.