Project will ‘enhance the O’Hare experience from the curb to the gate’: Work begins on new concourse
Chicago leaders broke ground on O’Hare International Airport’s latest concourse Monday, a project that will bring “flexible” new gates and flights, officials said.
Concourse D is on the southwest end of the airfield and will initially connect with Terminal 1’s Concourse C by a bridge.
“Today we begin building for the future of O’Hare,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.
The 19 new gates will accommodate a variety of aircraft from narrow-body to international wide-body, which will reduce layovers and allow for greater efficiency, Chicago Department of Aviation Commissioner Michael McMurray said.
“With Concourse D, we take the next bold step forward,” Johnson said, adding it would “enhance the O’Hare experience from the curb to the gate.”
The satellite concourse is part of a major $8.2 billion construction program that will include tearing down Terminal 2 and replacing it with a Global Terminal.
Another satellite, Concourse E, is scheduled to be built in the coming years, and both will link passengers and employees to the airport by an underground tunnel, which will also convey baggage.
The Concourse D project will cost $1.3 billion, including $300 million in supporting infrastructure such as a new central cooling facility plus pavement and utilities related to Concourse E.
Eighteen of the 19 gates handling narrow-body jets can be rejiggered into nine bigger ones for wide-body planes.
The building should be completed in late 2028. Features will include over 20,000 square feet of lounges, 30,000 square feet for shops and eateries, and a large children’s play area.
As for constructing a massive structure on an airfield that handled more than 77,000 takeoffs and landings in June alone, “they’ll be very, very little disruption to operations,” McMurray said.
The interior of Concourse D is inspired by O’Hare’s origins as Orchard Field with “the bold character of Chicago and the quiet beauty of the Midwest,” architects said.
“Passengers will arrive at a large, domed, multitiered space with an oculus (skylight) that directs daylight into the building,” Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Design Partner Scott Duncan said.
“Curved geometries inspired by Midwestern river bends shape intuitive paths through the space, framing areas to dine, rest, play and recharge.
“The concourse is structured by a series of branching, treelike columns, an homage to the orchards that once stood on this land. These elements open up the space, improve circulation and support a high-performing roof that’s attuned to the Midwest climate,” Duncan explained.
O’Hare is “about connecting people and uniting the globe,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said. “So often, we get mired in the short term. This is thinking about the long term.”
“Navigating a project of this magnitude is never easy and we’ve had our curves in the road,” American Airlines Vice Chair Steve Johnson said. “But the unwavering commitment of both hub carriers and all of you has been at the heart of O’Hare’s success.”
The two carriers are embroiled in a battle over gates with American contending the city’s reallocation of gates this summer to United breaks a 2018 deal.
Asked how the city will distribute the 19 new ones, McMurry said the CDA would be releasing more information later this month.