Quote:
Originally Posted by Kngkyle
This is where the strong-man political system in Chicago can actually be beneficial. Chicago O'Hare added 4 new runways in the past 20 years in a project that required bulldozing a neighborhood and digging up 15,000 graves. Now the airport has 6 parallel runways that can be used simultaneously.
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yeah, the expansion and runway realignment of ORD over the past 2 decades has been a serious feat of political swagger.
once the final runway extension is complete next year, it will be the first airport in the world with 6 parallel runways (4 of which will be ~11,000+ feet)!
ORD's capacity will soon be limited only by its terminal capacity, which is currently in the works to be massively expanded as well.
on the flip side, chicago is also home to MDW, which only has two commercial grade runways (crossing pattern) of ~6,500 feet, the shortest runways of any US "major hub" airport. and no amount of political strong-arming is ever gone get those runways extended.