Crews break ground on $649M Chicago O'Hare Airport runway

Dive Brief:

Chicago and O'Hare International Airport officials broke ground last week on the facility's $648.5 million sixth and final runway, pleasing those who have advocated for increased capacity, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
City officials estimate that the project will deliver "the equivalent of the capacity of a third airport" and will also create 6,000 jobs and "hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts."
In addition to the new runway, airport and city officials plan gate and hotel expansions to accommodate the increased traffic. The three-phase project is expected to be complete in 2020.

Dive Insight:

Airports across the U.S. are renovating, overhauling and expanding in order to meet the demands of increased passenger traffic, including Atlanta, San Francisco, Salt Lake City and New York. This month, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority awarded PCL Construction Services a contract for the first phase of a $1.8 terminal project that will provide 16 to 21 new gates, additional parking and a host of ancillary infrastructure improvements in order to increase total airport capacity to 40 million passengers annually.

Also this month, Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority officials announced a five-to-seven-year, $1.2 billion expansion and renovation of Nashville International Airport. Improvements include renovations to the lobby, parking and concourse, with the possibility of a new hotel. Airport officials also noted that no tax dollars would be used in the construction or development of the project. Instead, airport officials will rely on state and federal grants, passenger charges and bonds.

Last month, Denver International Airport announced it had selected Spain-based Ferrovial Airports to lead a public-private partnership (P3) development plan for the renovation of its existing 1.5-million-square-foot Jeppesen Terminal. Airport officials have encountered resistance to the plan, however, as airport union workers said Ferrovial has a poor track record in dealing with unions on other projects.