New Landing Strips At SEA, ORD, IAD Weren't Cheap

Just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend travel peak, USA Today reports three large US commercial airports are all scheduled to bring new runway capacity online this Thursday.

In the Pacific Northwest, where poor visibility is a threat much of the year, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has struggled for years with two parallel runways which are too close together to allow simultaneous approaches at minimums.

The new, 8,500-foot west runway 16R/34L will solve that problem. The runway cost a cool $1 billion -- that's not a typo -- to build, and required the acquisition and demolition of more than 400 houses. It's likely most fliers will feel it's worth the cost, however... as SeaTac historically sees low clouds 44 percent of the time.

In Chicago, O'Hare International's controversial sixth runway will open, despite questions surrounding how to fund $15 billion in associated improvements during a down economy. The 7,500-foot runway, the airport's sixth, is the first new runway there since 1971.

Along with its new, dedicated "bad weather" control tower, the new runway is projected to reduce delays during times of poor visibility from the current average of 24 minutes to 16.

The runway and tower cost $460 million. Mayor Richard Daly's vision for the airport expansion also includes a new terminal and other improvements, which he hopes to get funded in time for the 2016 Summer Olympics, which the city has bid to host.

Washington Dulles will debut a new 9,400-foot 1L/19R, which gives the airport the capability to handle three incoming flights or takeoffs simultaneously. It's the airport's fourth runway, and was built at a cost of cost $355 million.

FMI: www.portseattle.org/seatac, www.ohare.com, www.metwashairports.com/Dulles/