O'Hare's new runway opens amid turbulence

The smooth landing of a United Airlines jet on the first new runway at O'Hare International Airport since 1971 Thursday morning belied storm clouds over its future growth.

The north runway will reduce delays in bad weather and is part of a larger project to create six parallel runways and a western terminal.

The successful completion of the project came amid controversy that financially beleaguered United Airlines and American Airlines, O'Hare's major carriers, want the project scaled back.

"In tough economic times, people want to separate and divide and never accomplish anything," Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said. "But we take great pride in handling major issues. A lot of people doubted us but we all came together."

After the runway opening, United CEO Glenn Tilton was pressed to explain a letter from his airline and American to Chicago and the Federal Aviation Administration in June, where both called for a review of the modernization plan saying it would be premature to commit money without a new analysis.

The letter also called the western terminal "ill-conceived."

"The dialogue should continue on the appropriate sizing of the project," Tilton said, adding he was committed to the six parallel runways but had doubts on the western terminal.

"All we're saying is a good, strong business case has to be made," he said. "Let's make certain we're not following a rigid application, let's be flexible. As the economy changes, we want to continue the dialogue."

A slew of officials from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters to local mayors braved freezing temperatures to mark the occasion and show support.

"We have to take advantage for our community of what O'Hare offers," Addison Mayor Larry Hartwig said.

But Bensenville Village President John Geils, whose community stands to lose 600 properties through airport expansion, said United and American's concerns bolster his community's case. He staunchly opposes the airport expansion and argues the funding isn't there.

"To say that we were right is an understatement," Geils said. "This is a PR hoax. It's time to do a different plan."

Costs for O'Hare expansion have risen from $6.6 billion to an estimated $8 billion. Funding will come from loans, passenger ticket fees, and government grants. Other possibilities for paying for the western terminal project involve the private sector through naming rights, leasing or other sponsorships.

The new runway's official designation is 9 Left-27 Right, indicating compass points. The runway, an air traffic control tower built specifically for the runway, plus related construction work such as relocating Willow-Higgins Creek, will cost about $457 million, $6 million under budget, Chicago officials pointed out.

The runway is designed with sophisticated instrument landing systems that guide pilots in stormy or foggy weather.

But 9L-27R and the extension of an existing runway to the south, completed in September, won't make a huge dent in delays. The FAA estimates both projects will reduce delays from the current average of 16.2 minutes to 15.5 minutes, a 4.3 percent difference.

The big difference will come when a new runway to the south is built, leading to only 10 minute delays. But the St. Johannes Cemetery sits in the middle of the project and its owners are teaming up with Bensenville to fight expansion in court.

The issue has caused bitter divisions in DuPage County, where most towns and the county board have shifted from opposing airport growth to endorsing it with hopes of the benefits a western terminal and western access to O'Hare could bring.

Naperville Mayor George Pradel joined Hartwig and other county leaders on the inaugural United flight. "I also feel we're trying to do what's right. O'Hare is an economic engine," Pradel said.

But Geils said the financial issues expose the airport project as "pie in the sky," and said he planned to visit his fellow mayors and county board officials to "ask them what their position is now."

DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom said he'd welcome Geils, adding "if John had sat down with me a few years ago, I could have encouraged him to look at the opportunities that would come to Bensenville with airport expansion."

On the western terminal, Schillerstrom said, "This is one more obstacle we will have to kick down."

Transportation experts at the event were confident modernization would move ahead. "The questions about the terminal do not need to slow down the rest of the project," DePaul University transportation professor Joseph Schwieterman said. "We're almost past the point of no return."

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