![]() In August, work was completed on a $25.5 million rehab of the airport’s 9,300-space Main Parking Garage, a 49-year-old facility.Īnd in June the aviation department kicked off work on a new, six-story parking garage at Terminal 5, which will more than double the amount of short- and long-term car storage at O’Hare. Regrettably, the CDA has also been spending lots of money on projects to encourage more people to take private cars to the airport. In June, the Chicago Department of Aviation reopened seven pedestrian tunnels linking the Main Terminals to the Blue Line and a parking garage with new designs as part of a $35.5 million project. Before and after views of one of the rehabbed tunnel linking terminal one to the Blue Line station. The system was shut down in January 2019 for repairs and was supposed to reopen that fall, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, contract disputes, and other snags, partial service wasn’t restored until November 2021, a frustratingly long lag time. On the plus side, in April, the Airport Transit System people-mover re-launched 24-hour service. Awkward!Ī news release about the terminal expansion included updates on several other transportation-related infrastructure projects at O’Hare. Congressional rep Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who sits on the House Infrastructure Committee and is running in the upcoming Chicago mayoral election, stood a few feet away from Lightfoot, but didn’t interact with her. There was some first-rate Chicago political drama at today’s presser as U.S. Congressional rep Chuy Garcia at today’s press conference. Buttigieg, Lightfoot, aviation chief Jamie Rhee, and U.S. The satellite concourses will include about 1.3 million square feet of gate and amenity space, and will accommodate both narrow and wide-body airplanes. Work to build a large tunnel connecting passengers, baggage, and utilities between the Global Terminal and the satellite concourses is expected to start in 2024 with and finish in 2030. The work is slated to start in 2026, and with the construction of the O’Hare Global Terminal predicted to end by 2030. Demolition of Terminal 2, the airport’s oldest passenger facility, will happen in phases. The study found that the terminal project will decrease emissions emissions overall by reducing airplane taxi times.Ĭonstruction is slated to start this spring, with the first satellite concourse scheduled for completion in 2027, and work on the second satellite concourse projected to wrap up in 2028. The FAA review, which started in 2018, was required by the National Environmental Policy Act. “The next phase of work will expand O’Hare’s capacity to serve travelers and improve the customer experience, transforming it into one of the greatest airports of the 21st century.” Rendering of the interior of the Global Terminal. “O’Hare is the lifeblood of Chicago’s economy, directly employing tens of thousands of Illinois residents and bringing more than 70 million passengers to and through our city each year,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot stated. ![]() “Now, as we prepare to break ground on O’Hare’s newest terminal, Chicago and this entire region will be positioned to grow and create good-paying jobs through the benefits of first-rate infrastructure, beginning with the construction project itself.” “Chicago’s transportation infrastructure is what makes this city an economic powerhouse of global importance,” said Buttigieg in a statement. That means construction can start on two new satellite concourses and the new O’Hare Global Terminal, which will replace Terminal 2, plus other related projects. After conducting an environmental review, the Federal Aviation Administration issued its finding there will “no significant impact” on air and water quality or noise, and the project won’t cause major air traffic problems. The terminal initiative will be one of the largest infrastructure projects in Chicago history. The city also provided updates on some walking, transit, and, unfortunately, driving projects at the airport. transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg joined local officials at the aviation hub to announce that the feds have green-lighted the $12.1 billion Terminal Area Plan modernization and expansion project. In the future there will be even more reason to ride the ( hopefully fully rehabbed) CTA Blue Line to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
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