City of Chicago Can Begin Work to Improve Airport Safety and
Capacity
The FAA has issued its Record of Decision (ROD) that determines
the City of Chicago’s O’Hare Modernization Program and
Airport Layout Plan is the best alternative to improve safety,
increase capacity and reduce delays with the least environmental
impact.
The FAA’s approval completes on schedule the most
extensive environmental review process in the agency’s
history on schedule and allows the City to begin construction work
at O’Hare International Airport.
“Expanding capacity at Chicago’s O’Hare
airport will save travelers time, make our skies safer, and reduce
delays across the entire aviation network,” said Secretary of
Transportation Norman Mineta.
“We have taken a close look at every possible option and
settled on the one that provides the best results for air travelers
nationwide.”
“O’Hare is
now cleared for takeoff to a future with greater safety and
capacity,” said FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey.
“Modernizing O’Hare is not only essential for the
Chicagoland area, but also for the efficiency of our nation’s
aviation system. If implemented successfully by the City, this plan
will mean more flights and better on-time performance for travelers
around the country connecting through this critical hub.”
Among the alternative airport plans and a “no-build”
option the FAA reviewed, the City’s proposed plan delivers
the airport capacity to handle a forecasted 1.2 million take-offs
and landings annually (300,000 more than current capacity), reduces
delays by two-thirds, and improves safety by cutting active runway
crossings by more than half, according to the report.
The City’s plan also would reduce costs due to delays by
nearly $2.5 billion, based on the industry average of $25 per delay
minute. The cost of taking no action to modernize O’Hare is
nearly $4.2 billion in delay costs as compared to just over $1.7
billion in projected delay costs in the City’s plan, the FAA
said.
“These capacity and safety benefits would be realized by
2018 with the completion of all phases of the modernization
program,” Blakey said.
“A modernized
O’Hare should also provide greater efficiency to the
nation’s overall aviation system because of its central
location and unique status serving two major carriers. It is
estimated that 25 percent of delays nationwide can be attributed to
congestion at O’Hare.”
The ROD reflects 3½ years of comprehensive environmental
analysis involving 16 separate federal, state, regional and local
government agencies and backed by over 9 million pages of
documentation. The FAA also hired the auditing firm of John F.
Brown Company, to provide independent cost-benefit and financial
analysis of the modernization program.
The ROD also outlines mitigation actions that the City will need
to accomplish in various environmental areas, including: air
quality; noise; land acquisition; flood plains; and, cemetery
relocations.
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