Aviation Commissioner Says O’Hare Rehab is on Schedule, and will Pose Minimum Fuss for Travelers
Chicago’s aviation commissioner is promising that the massive $8.5 billion rehabilitation of O’Hare International Airport will get done on time, and with minimal disruption for both travelers and airlines.
“My No. 1 goal is to have someone come through Chicago and not even know we’re under construction," Commissioner Jamie Rhee said. “We want to bring this in on time and on budget, and we want to make sure that we’re doing it in a way that’s the least disruptive to the traveling public as possible."
The pledge comes despite a major delay on an ongoing airport project — the reconstruction of the “people mover” light rail system.
Rhee was appointed head of aviation by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2018, after serving nine years as the city’s chief procurement officer under Emanuel and former Mayor Richard M. Daley. She was kept on by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to oversee the largest and most expensive expansion in the airport’s almost 76-year history.
The O’Hare revamp, which is supposed to be finished by the end of 2028, will include the addition of a new Global Terminal and three new concourses.
The city already has started a $1.2 billion expansion of Terminal 5, which by 2021 will have 10 new gates and 75% more space for passenger amenities. To make way for that Chicago Police is moving its airport headquarters just west of its current location.
The city also is working on the Runway 9R extension, and finishing a new 11,245-foot east-west runway, known as 9C/27C, which will open before the end of this year.
Rhee said O’Hare passengers will see a lot of amenities coming into the airport over the next few years, including pop-up food and retail concessions from the city’s many neighborhoods.
The $8.5 billion expansion is starting with the selection of design and engineering firms and the signing of major contracts.
In March, Emanuel announced the selection of the “Studio ORD” design team for the new Global Terminal, headed by Chicago architect Jeanne Gang. The city signed a contract with Gang in May worth up to $160 million.
In July, the city picked Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, best known as the architects of Willis Tower, to design two satellite concourses that will connect with the new Global Terminal, but will be built first.
The contract with Skidmore has not yet been signed, but Rhee said the city is “very close” to getting it tdone. The city also is close to selecting a lead engineer to tdesign the tunnel to connect the concourses and the Global Terminal, she said.
Ground is scheduled to be broken on the two satellite concourses, which will cost about $1.4 billion, in January of 2022. Construction of these satellite concourses will start before the existing Terminal 2 can be torn down and building begins on the Global Terminal and concourse, a Y-shaped, 2.2 million-square structure.
Rhee said she is not concerned that waiting to finalize the contract with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill will delay work on the Global Terminal. She said the city focused on Studio ORD first because it will set the “tone and palette” for the satellite concourses and tunnel.
Another big part of the expansion is an employee parking garage to be built on the western end of the airport, which will eventually be accessible through an Illinois Tollway “beltway” around O’Hare, with new entrance and exit ramps.
As part of the Terminal 5 expansion, Rhee said the city will solicit proposals on concessions in the next few months. Westfield Concession Management currently oversees food and merchandise concessions at the terminal.
One significant project that’s been behind schedule at O’Hare has been the renovation of the “people mover,” a light rail system that runs between the airport’s terminals and parking facilities. The project was supposed to be mostly finished by December 2018, but the city pushed back that date until late spring. Passengers have made due with shuttle buses. Parsons Construction is being assessed penalties over the delay, Rhee said.
Rhee said the train is currently running on the tracks and being tested.
"We’re not going to put people on there until I know it’s safe ...” said Rhee, noting that the train is automated, rather than being driven by engineers. “It is obviously a very critical piece of our airport that we want to bring on as soon as we possibly can.”
Emanuel had picked billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk to build a high-speed, underground express transit link from downtown to O’Hare. But Lightfoot was critical of the plan, which now appears dead.
Asked if the city is looking at alternative ways to get to the airport, Rhee said the department has talked with Metra about expanding service on its North Central Line. The department is building a covered walkway from the commuter railroad’s O’Hare station to the airport’s multimodal parking facility, which will connect with the people mover, Rhee said.
In addition to the work at O’Hare, the city is continuing its modernization program at Midway International Airport, with a new security platform over Cicero Avenue that will double screening capacity, plus 70 new concessions, Rhee said.
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