The federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has pledged US$60 million toward a US$104.3 million project to improve baggage screening and make it more convenient for passengers at Portland International Airport (PDX).

Once completed in late 2010, the project will move screening equipment out of the airport ticket lobby and behind the scenes, which the Port of Portland said will simplify the bag screening process for travelers and increase space in the ticket lobby. The system will also provide additional screening capacity and flexibility, enhancing security, the port said.

Under the new system, travelers will give their checked bags to an airline representative at the ticket counter, the bags will travel on conveyor belts out of the ticket lobby through screening equipment enroute to being loaded onto aircraft. As it works now, travelers carry their own bags to screening areas in the ticket lobby.

Construction on the system, which will impact about 65,000 square feet of the terminal building, began earlier this year.

Steve Johnson, a spokesman for the airport, said the airlines that serve PDX are paying for the remainder of the project's cost.