Portland International Jetport unveils new rescue truck, gate upgrades and parking/battery plan

Portland International Jetport Director Paul Bradbury told the Sustainability and Transportation Committee Wednesday that the airport has placed a new Oshkosh Stryker ARFF (aircraft rescue and firefighting) vehicle into service and is advancing multiple terminal, parking and resiliency projects.

Bradbury said the new ARFF truck entered service on April 21. The vehicle replaces a 25‑year‑old unit, has a high‑reach extendable turret (HRET) with a penetrating nozzle for fighting internal aircraft fires, and allows the airport to switch to fluorine‑free firefighting foam approved by federal authorities. The truck’s total project cost was $1,175,000; $928,000 of the vehicle’s base cost was paid through the FAA Airport Improvement Program with the airport reporting 90 percent of that portion funded by FAA grants.

The airport is nearing completion of terminal work serving Gates 11, 12 and 14. Bradbury described a $21.6 million project that replaces open boarding ramps with long fixed bridges and passenger boarding bridges; funding sources include $10.4 million from the Airport Terminal Program, $8.4 million in FAA grants, $740,000 in state funds and $2.1 million from Jetport unrestricted funds. He said the gate complex will open with a ribbon cutting planned for July 30 at 11 a.m.

Bradbury also showed renderings and construction photos of new accessible restroom facilities and an adult changing room to assist travelers with mobility challenges; the improvements were paid in part with federal terminal funds tied to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, he said.

The airport plans to relocate administration, operations and an airport emergency operations center into space over baggage claim. That $9.6 million project is fully Jetport funded and expected to go out to bid in August; Bradbury said the build cycle will take about a year once under way.

Bradbury briefed the committee on a larger parking redevelopment and battery‑storage site plan for a former gravel lot the airport purchased years ago. He said the full site plan is roughly a $9.5 million project that would redevelop the existing cell‑phone lot and the former gravel “parking jet” parcel, install modern stormwater treatment and provide a net increase of about 265 parking spaces (the full new lot totals 667 spaces but replaces existing lots). The parcel contains areas with wetlands; Bradbury said a conservation easement to protect adjacent vegetation is being finalized and will be discussed with the Stroudwater neighborhood. The parking project is part of a single site plan that also includes a battery energy storage system (BESS) of about 1.9 megawatts, made up of Tesla “megapack” units, to provide backup power to the terminal addition and support the airport’s electrification.

Bradbury said the battery storage portion has already been reviewed by the committee and staff intend to bring a referral for appropriation to the full council in September as part of the single site plan. He noted the airport is working to finalize a conservation easement before that referral and said the nearest home to the site is more than 150 yards away; the project will include landscaping and underground stormwater treatment not present today.

Bradbury emphasized an airport‑wide PFAS reduction milestone: the ARFF vehicle and other actions allowed the Jetport to transition away from aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) containing PFAS and to adopt approved fluorine‑free foam across campus, and he said the airport no longer stores PFAS‑containing foam in hangars or on vehicles.

Other recent or near‑term projects he described include a service‑animal relief area (ACERA) at the terminal, completion of a Yellowbird Road sidewalk and pedestrian improvements (a just‑completed project of roughly a quarter‑million dollars), and electrification work that allowed United’s push‑back tugs and other ground equipment to plug into terminal power. Bradbury said the airport still must address stormwater issues on previously gravel lots and that some of the parking and BESS proposals were anticipated in the airport’s 2005 and 2018 master plans.

Councilors and staff asked about the parking need and timeline. Bradbury traced the program’s history to passenger volume growth that peaked in 2019 (about 1.1 million passengers) and then fell during the pandemic; he said volumes rebounded earlier than many New England peers and 2023–2025 have produced new record months. He said the City purchased the parking parcel several years ago and that onsite parking remains the most efficient option for reducing vehicle trip cycling associated with remote lots and shuttle services. He described the current schedule as returning to the committee in September for a referral to the full council on appropriation and said final design, conservation easements and permitting remain to be resolved before construction.

Councilors asked for continued outreach to neighborhoods, details on how the battery storage will be sited and whether the airport will share maps and timelines publicly; Bradbury and staff said they will return with more detailed materials before any appropriation vote.

Ending: The committee accepted the update for further review; Bradbury will return with refined site‑plan materials and a council appropriation referral in September. No formal action was taken at the committee meeting on the airport projects.