President Biden Visits Portland Thursday Touting Infrastructure Funds

PORTLAND, OR — If you experience some extra traffic in town on Thursday, it will likely be because streets and areas have been shut down to make it easier for President Joe Biden to move around. The president is headed to the Pacific Northwest with stops in Portland followed by Seattle the next day.

The White House has not yet provided details on where he'll be speaking and when.

While officials have not provided details on what exactly the president will be addressing, they've said that the visit to Portland will focus on infrastructure and the trip to Seattle will be focused on the economy.

A source familiar with planning for the trip who was not authorized to discuss details because things are still being worked out and could change, said that he will likely talk about how the area is going to benefit from the recently passed bipartisan spending bill.

Oregon's senators – Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley – recently announced that more than $200 million in federal funds, including a $153 million investment in transit infrastructure, are coming to Oregon as a result of the spending bill.

The bill also includes more than $6 million in funding for work by the Army Corps of Engineers at Willamette Falls.

The source said that it's unlike the president will make a return trip to Salt & Straw where he stopped for a cone in 2014 while in town campaigning for Merkley.