First Phase Of Expansion Over Budget

Officials broke ground Monday on the first of two new air-traffic control towers at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The new north airfield tower will handle traffic landing on 9-Left/27-Right, a new runway scheduled to open by November 2008.

"We must build a new control tower on the north airfield because the air-traffic controllers cannot view the ends of our new runway because of buildings obstructing the runway ends," said Rosemarie Andolino, executive director of the O'Hare Modernization Program, to the Chicago Tribune.

That runway will be the first new runway at O'Hare in more than 30 years... and won't arrive a minute too soon at O'Hare, where capacity issues have led to limits on incoming and outgoing flights during peak periods.

The new runway, as well as an extension to a current runway, were originally scheduled to be finished by 2007 -- but delays have plagued the expansion project. The new north tower won't be ready for controllers until 2009 -- one year after the new runway is slated to be finished.

FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro says controllers will work out of a temporary facility until equipment has been installed and tested in the new tower.

Officials would not provide a firm date for construction of the second new runway, 10-Center/28-Center, originally planned to open in 2009. That runway is at the center of a battle between city officials, and opponents of the planned O'Hare expansion.

Opponents of the expansion -- which would require the destruction of homes in nearby Bensenville -- are appealing a federal court decision that would allow the city to relocate about 1,600 graves at St. Johannes Cemetery, which borders the airport.

A second new satellite tower is planned for the second phase of O'Hare expansion, which hasn't yet received FAA approval. That also hinges on the successful completion of the first phase -- which is now $400 million over budget, according to Andolino.

The far south airfield tower will eventually handle traffic on the future runway 10 Right/28 Left.

FMI: www.cityofchicago.org