The Port of Portland has officially opened its $156 million parking garage at Portland International Airport and is nearly finished with a new $85 million headquarters for the agency.

But the projects were started years ago when economic estimates were still high; airport traffic has been mostly flat since last summer without significant signs of improvement.

The public agency, which operates the airport and docks along the Columbia and Willamette rivers, is in the midst of its largest capital construction campaign in history, with more than $570 million in upgrades and construction underway or coming to an end...

But the lull in international trade by air and sea means officials can only bank on a steady economic recovery to help pay off their purchases. The new garage and headquarters were not paid for by tax dollars, but with agency revenues and airport revenue bonds.

Read the full story at OregonLive.com.