First part of airport improvements ahead of schedule, if not on budget
The aviation industry may be flailing and passenger dissatisfaction growing with fees on everything from luggage to pillows, but at O'Hare International Airport, officials are flying high, at least for now.
O'Hare Modernization Project Executive Director Rosemarie Andolino gave a tour Thursday of airport construction. A new runway and air traffic control tower will open Nov. 20 and the extension of an existing runway will be finished Sept. 25, ahead of schedule.
The project isn't without opposition. Chicago is embroiled in lawsuits with Bensenville, which stands to lose 600 properties with airport expansion.
But Andolino said the completion of the two runways are proof the rest of the ambitious improvement plan will materialize. When that day comes, "it will be like adding Midway at O'Hare," she said.
Here are some of the latest statistics and facts on airport modernization.
What's the modernization plan?
•The project involves creating six parallel runways that should reduce O'Hare's chronic delays.
•The new runway on the north side of the airport is 7,500 feet long. It is equipped with technology that guides pilots landing in storms and fog and will be used primarily during bad weather for arriving flights.
•The extension lengthens an existing 10,000-foot runway by 3,000 feet. The added dimensions enable it to handle heavy aircraft bound for destinations such as Asia, which need extra takeoff space.
How will this help delays?
The Federal Aviation Administration estimates the two improvements will reduce average delays from 16.2 minutes to 15.5 minutes, or about 4.3 percent. Major relief will come when all runways are complete - the FAA estimates delays will dip to 5 minutes on average. Operations would shift from 927,000 annual flights to 1.2 million.
What's this costing?
The OMP, originally pegged at $6.6 billion is closer to $8 billion now. Other mega projects including a capital construction plan and the city's World Gateway Program, which involves additional terminals, would bring the total to $15 billion in 2005 estimates.
Who could first land on the north runway?
President Bush has been invited to do the inaugural run.
What's the controversy about?
Bensenville is fighting demolition of homes in the village's northeast corner. Another legal battle is over relocating graves at the St. Johannes cemetery, which lies right in the path of a planned runway. The city however, has acquired 554 of 605 properties slated for demolition.
What other construction work is going on now?
The city is building a massive retention pond to replace Lake O'Hare on the airport's south section. The pond will retain stormwater until it can be released to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. The teardrop basin is on an 80-acre site.
What's next?
The city has asked engineers and architects to submit proposals to design the final phase of airport expansion, which includes two runways, a runway extension and a western terminal. Meanwhile, future court dates are pending.
In case you didn't know
• The runway extension required 1,200 light fixtures and 122,000 tons of asphalt.
• The new north runway required 257,000 tons of asphalt. Currently, FAA pilots are conducting flight checks of runway navigation systems that will last through next week.
• The new air traffic control tower is 255 feet tall and will be occupied by four controllers and a supervisor.
• The city hopes to finish the entire modernization plan by 2014, in time for the 2016 Olympics if Chicago is awarded the games.