A successful O'Hare expansion will require building roads as well as runways.
The historic agreement between Gov. George Ryan and Mayor Richard Daley over enlarging O'Hare International Airport makes it possible for the Chicago region to maintain its leadership as the nation's mid-continental gateway for airborne commerce.
But much more than Wednesday's agreement will be needed to make that happen, according to the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), the region's oldest and most respected civic advocate for good planning.
"This is a great start on a long journey," said M. Hill Hammock, chief operating officer of LaSalle Bank and chairman of the Planning Council.
"But the promised benefits of expanding our region's aviation capacity — the new jobs and economic growth — will be fully realized only if we plan, and plan well, for the growth that is to come."
Most important, Hammock said, are the off-airport facilities that must be built if an expanded O'Hare is to deliver the level of economic dividends the region expects and deserves. Indeed, a major boost in air-side capacity could backfire — in a cloud of traffic congestion — unless provision is made for adequate highway and transit connections.
To that end, MPC urges Gov. Ryan, Mayor Daley and Illinois' congressional delegation to focus now on the planning, funding and construction of the following:
- Western access to O'Hare, by extending the partially completed Elgin-O'Hare Expressway eastward to the proposed new western terminal.
- A western bypass expressway spur that would connect the Northwest (Interstate 90) and Tri-State (Interstate 294) Tollways so as to reduce congestion at O'Hare's main, eastern gate.
- Widening of the Northwest Tollway, along with an expansion of its Lee Street exit to provide direct access to O'Hare's main entryway.
- Extension of the Chicago Transit Authority's Blue Line, which now terminates at O'Hare, westward to Schaumburg. This would at once open the job-rich northwest suburbs to rapid transit, and give northwest suburbanites a non-car alternative to get to the airport.
- Implementation of CTA rapid transit express service to both O'Hare and Midway, ideally allowing departing passengers to check luggage at a downtown facility.
All of the above are contemplated by the city's long-range aviation expansion plan, yet unlike the plan's air-side improvements, funding sources have yet to be identified. Now that there is agreement on the basics of the airport expansion, the region's political and business leadership must focus on the $3 billion-plus that will be needed for these key surface linkages. A good place to start: Congress, which is about to begin work on legislation reauthorizing funding for the nation's surface transportation network.
An adequate surface component is equally key to planning any third regional airport.
The Planning Council welcomes that part of the Daley-Ryan accord that calls for continued planning and land acquisition for a future Peotone airport. Given the 40-mile distance from the Peotone site to Chicago's downtown, some form of fast rail service would be essential if that location is to click with the flying public ... and not further choke the already congested Dan Ryan (Interstate 94) corridor.
Gov. Ryan and Mayor Daley are to be congratulated for their persistance in forging a compromise that will both safeguard and re-energize O'Hare as our region's most powerful economic engine. Now it is essential, Hammock said, that our region's business, civic and political leadership step up and speak with one voice ... a voice that makes the case, both in Washington and in Springfield, for these crucial investments in our region's future.