PORTLAND — President Joe Biden led a political pep rally April 21 at Portland International Airport, a site he called “a perfect example” of what the $1 trillion legislation he signed last year can do to overhaul the nation’s aging infrastructure.

The airport is already undergoing a $2 billion modernization project, including a greatly expanded passenger terminal and a new mass timber roof that will be its crown jewel. The airport already has benefited from $19 million in federal funds for runway work. Biden said the infrastructure package earmarks another $25 billion for U.S. airports.

“There is a belief that we can’t do big things anymore,” Biden said. “But we can. We have proven we can. We must build a better America. A good place to start is right here in Portland.”

The president was speaking to a crowd of elected officials and union workers inside a hangar at the Air National Guard base on the airport’s southern edge.

During their speeches, some members of Oregon’s congressional delegation talked about other big projects besides airports that could benefit from the new federal money — including replacement bridges across the Columbia River connecting Portland and Vancouver, Wash., and widening Interstate 5 at the Rose Quarter interchange with Interstate 84.

Biden made few specific commitments, but Oregon is expected bring in about $5 billion over the next five years in infrastructure dollars.

What about outside Portland? What specific investments might rural communities see?

One potential area of investment is at the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay. During the event, U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, said they are hopeful that federal infrastructure dollars will turn the site into a major international port to relieve long-term congestion and boost trade.

The president made no commitment but said he recognized the congressmen “have been fighting for (improving the capacity of that port) for a long time.”

“And, you know, the investment all across Oregon is going to continue, like was mentioned earlier, by Coos Bay. You know, we’ve delivered nearly $33 million in January to modernize the main jetty, making it safer and more efficient for ships, boaters and fishermen,” said Biden.

On water projects, many specifics are still to be determined as water managers and governments apply for competitive grants. A few projects, however, have been named.

The law will provide $2.7 million in three major water infrastructure projects in Oregon.

The first investment is in the East Fork Irrigation District Modernization Project near Hood River. Funds will go toward the design of high-priority laterals and the Dukes Valley Canal.

The second investment is in the Tumalo Irrigation District Modernization Project near Bend. It will modernize up to 1.9 miles of Tumalo Irrigation District’s canals and 66.9 miles of laterals by converting open irrigation ditches into closed pipe systems.

The third grant will be used to modernize water conveyance systems in the Owyhee Irrigation District in southeastern Oregon.

The package, Biden said, also includes dollars “to help prevent and respond to fires like the thousands that burned … half a million acres across Oregon last year.”

He didn’t name the dollar amount Oregon will get for fire mitigation efforts, but USDA as a whole is slated to receive $3 billion over the next five years to reduce the risk of wildland fires.

Biden said Oregon will also see dollars go toward helping rural communities deal with floods, drought and the strengthening of electrical transmission lines.

At least $1.2 billion is for road and bridge repairs, mass transit and other alternatives to reduce carbon emissions from cars and increase infrastructure for electric vehicles. Most of this money is channeled through the state Department of Transportation, but some goes directly to local governments. The breakdown of how much of that money will go to rural versus urban projects is yet to be determined.

Biden said the infrastructure law will also deliver $100 million to Oregon “to make high-speed internet affordable and available everywhere in the state — urban, suburban, and rural.”

The infrastructure package is so enormous that Biden called this era the “Infrastructure Decade.”

In response to critics who say the massive package will intensify inflation, Biden blamed rising prices on supply-chain problems exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also linked gas price increases to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and worldwide sanctions against Russia.