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 were invited to webinars – held January 26 and 28, 2021 – to hear a presentation of the information presented on this site. The webinar presentation slides are available for download.

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An aerial view of the Hillsboro Airport shows linear runways in a green field. — Hillsboro Airport from the air

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.

graphic rendering of Runway 13R-31L and runway safety area at Hillsboro Airport — Rendering of aerial view of Hillsboro Airport shows Runway 13R-31L | Click to enlarge

Runway 13R-31L and runway safety area at Hillsboro Airport — An aerial view of Hillsboro Airport shows Runway 13R-31L | Click to enlarge

Purpose and Need

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.

A diagram illustrates how the current runway safety area grade contains a hump and a rut (including Glencoe Swale). This rise and fall in elevation is contrasted against the last fourth of the runway which has an even grade at 200 feet of elevation. The runway safety area grade must be corrected to meet FAA standards. — Click to enlarge

Environmental review

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		Prepare draft environmental assessment	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

Engineering

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.

Welcome

Runway Safety Area

NEPA Process

Update on Proposed Action

Key Elements of the Proposed Action:

Next steps

Contact the project team

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