CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is expected to give more details on the newly-minted $1.3 billion deal to build the final runway in the overhaul of O’Hare International Airport.
The agreement between the city, United Airlines and American Airlines was announced on Saturday. Construction is set to begin in May with the new runway opening in 2020. Emanuel is expected to speak about the project Sunday afternoon.
For years, Chicago has been untangling O’Hare’s six crisscrossing runways and rearranging them in a safer, more efficient side-by-side layout. It’s supposed to unclog one of the nation’s worst aviation bottlenecks.
Emanuel has said he aggressively went after the detail and his goal is to make O’Hare the nation’s best airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration is contributing $345 million to the project.