City Plans Significant Upgrades At Midway Airport
Updated 08/06/15 - 1:24 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- City officials were planning to announce major upgrades for Midway International Airport on Thursday.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the Midway parking garage on the east side of Cicero Avenue will be expanded as part of the $248 million project.
The expansion will include a larger parking deck, with four levels, and space for 1,400 additional cars.
The airport also will offer more food choices inside the terminal, and the security area – a notorious bottleneck on a bridge connecting the ticketing area to the terminal – will be widened significantly.
"We're going to go from 60 feet to 300 feet; from 17 lanes to 27," he said.
Podcast
The expanded bridge will also include a 20,000-square foot concessions area, adding 50 percent more concessions space to Midway.
The city plans to seek proposals for the work beginning in September, and hopes to choose a contractor by next spring.
Chicago Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans said the project would be funded with federal dollars, and money from the airlines, among other sources.
"Generally, the rule is we build the structure, and the equipment, and the layout of the equipment, and the staffing is done by the federal government," she said.
City officials said the expansion is a response to complaints from tourists and business travelers who have expressed concerns about the amenities at Midway for years.
The mayor's office said it will be the largest investment since a nearly $1 billion renovation of Midway was completed in 2004. That project saw the old terminal replaced with a completely new one, without shutting down airport operations.
The new expansion is projected to create 1,700 construction and concession jobs.
