O’Hare Expansion Price Tag Soars To $14.8 Billion

Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport has a bad case of gridlock, but the plan to fix it with two new runways keeps developing convolutions of its own, growing more and more expensive. Originally proposed as a $6.6 billion plan in 2001, the expansion now includes two new terminals and upgrades around the field, for a total price tag of $14.8 billion, the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday. Critics said the price inflation only proves the plan is not feasible. “I still believe the city’s figures … are on the low side,” Joseph Del Balzo, a consultant hired by local groups that oppose the expansion, told the Tribune.

Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has a bad case of gridlock, but the plan to fix it with two new runways keeps developing convolutions of its own, growing more and more expensive. Originally proposed as a $6.6 billion plan in 2001, the expansion now includes two new terminals and upgrades around the field, for a total price tag of $14.8 billion, the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday. Critics said the price inflation only proves the plan is not feasible. "I still believe the city's figures ... are on the low side," Joseph Del Balzo, a consultant hired by local groups that oppose the expansion, told the Tribune. The airport plan is slated to be complete by 2013, enabling O'Hare to handle 1.6 million flights a year.