Dive Brief:
- The Illinois Tollway has authorized a $1.7 billion infrastructure spend as part of its 2017 budget, according to the Chicago Tribune.
- The money includes funding for $374.5 million of new toll roads, which will create a western entry point for Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The rest of the $1.7 billion will pay for almost $587 million in additional capital projects, $405 million of debt and $336 million in maintenance and operational costs.
- In order to provide additional access to O’Hare, the Tollway must build across Canadian Pacific Railway tracks, a move the rail company has resisted thus far. To force a decision and a possible agreement, the Tollway has filed suit with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board against Canadian Pacific.
Dive Insight:
In August, construction crews broke ground on O'Hare's sixth runway, a $648.5 million project that Chicago officials said would provide the capacity of a third airport, generate 6,000 jobs and result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts. The airport will also see new gates and more hotels to accommodate the extra passenger flow.
Despite the Federal Aviation Administration's projections that the dollar value of projects under the agency's Airport Improvement Program will decline by $1 billion to $32.5 billion over the next five years, there are no signs that the larger airport initiatives that don't qualify for the program are on the wane.
For example, in November, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority gave the green light for construction to begin on a new $1.8 billion terminal at Orlando International Airport, a project that will allow the facility to accommodate up to 55 million passengers a year. The Los Angeles World Airports Board of Airport Commissioners also recently approved a $1.3 billion terminal project at Los Angeles International Airport.
