Chicagoist: As New O'Hare Runway Opens, Airlines Fight More Expansion

dopplerd

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:16:47 -0600

BR: It seems like a lot of bank to me to. Apparently a significant portion of money went toward buying property and moving a river to accommodate the runway. The expansion was not a matter of simply pouring concrete and waiting for it to dry. I was at the public opening of 9L/27R and talked to some of the construction guys. Apparently there is around 6 feet of concrete, asphalt, and aggregate under what you see. A major expressway is around 2 feet.

BeeRockafeller

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:00:00 -0600

I'm not a city planner, or in construction, or politics, or airplane runway development. But seriously, $450 million dollars for a mile stretch of asphalt? Before I get all of the armchair experts telling me how it adds up (I hear those pretty blue lights do not come cheap, and are not available at Costco either!) I'm just making the point that you know deep down that contracts and bids were padded to have the total be the amount of a third world country's GDP.

matty

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:45:01 -0600

I actually agree with the city on this one. Stopping a long term project for immediate reasons is not a good idea.