Chicago's plan to modernize O'Hare International Airport is expected to reduce delays while also boosting the state's economy.

For the city of Chicago, the plan to modernize its O'Hare International Airport will do more than maintain its position as the No. 1 airport in North America. Instead, O'Hare Modernization Program (OMP) Executive Director Rosemarie S. Andolino explains that the project will enable its “region to be competitive in the 21st century.”

According to The Chicago Airport System, O'Hare provides travelers with connections to more cities than any other airport in the world.

In 2005, more than 76.5 million passengers passed through O'Hare. “O'Hare has been the world's busiest airport for a while now,” Andolino states. “It's also been the nation's most-delayed airport, as well.”

In 2001, she explains, Congress mandated that local leaders find solutions for airport delays and congestion. That year, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley introduced the $6.6 billion program, which was designed to not only reduce delays but also increase the capacity at O'Hare and prepare it for future aviation needs.

To make these improvements, the OMP will reconfigure the airport's intersecting runways into a parallel layout, and construct a new western terminal facility with additional airline gates and parking. The project will also include the addition of a new system for transporting people from the new terminal to O'Hare's main terminal core.

Making a Difference
Andolino has been with the city of Chicago for 17 years. Before joining the OMP as its executive director in 2003, she was with the Department of Planning and Development and became its first deputy commissioner in 2001.

In her various roles with the city, Andolino says she has enjoyed the chance to make differences within communities.

The OMP will give her that opportunity again, she says, by creating jobs for the region and adding billions of dollars to the economy. Currently, O'Hare generates 450,000 jobs for Illinois.

According to Andolino, the OMP will add another 195,000 jobs in industries including construction, airport operation, cargo and tourism. The project will also generate $18 billion in economic activity, in addition to the $38 billion that it already generates for the region.

“The modernization will substantially [increase] capacity and the program will save airlines a combined $750 million annually,” Andolino adds. “It will allow O'Hare to remain the most important economic [generator] not only for Chicago, but to the region.” According to city officials, air passengers and the airlines will save $750 million annually in reduced-delay savings.

Moving Forward
According to Andolino, the OMP is “one of the largest [construction] projects currently underway in the country.” Because it is being constructed in one of the world's busiest airports, the city has separated the program into phases, so the OMP will not adversely impact O'Hare's operations.

Andolino says the project is currently in its first phase, which includes the construction of its north runway and an air traffic control tower, the extension of an existing runway and the relocation of another existing runway. The north runway and the extension of the existing runway are scheduled to be complete in November 2008.

This November, the OMP broke ground on its control tower, and has moved 1.9 million cubic yards of dirt for the construction of its north runaway. Andolino notes that this has been managed despite the “wettest spring, summer and fall we've experienced in three decades.”

The city appreciates its relationships with its contractors. “We have some of the best firms in the country working on this program,” she states, noting that its contractors include Kiewit Western Co. and Walsh Construction Co.

LEEDing the Way
Andolino praises Daley for his vision to solve airport delays and congestion, as well as his work in moving the project from the conception stage to its start in a five-year period. Additionally, Daley's preference for sustainable building in Chicago has extended to the project.

“He's been known as one of the greenest mayors in the country,” Andolino states, noting that the project has used a sustainable design manual based on LEED and U.S. Green Building Council guidelines.

According to the OMP, 20 percent of the building materials used in its new control tower will be from local sources, while 50 percent of its wood will be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. USBR