Chicago mayor to seek one new O'Hare runway--report

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago Mayor Richard Daley will propose building just one new runway to relieve congestion at O'Hare International Airport, not two as has been speculated, the Chicago Tribune reported Thursday.

The Tribune, citing sources at City Hall and in the aviation industry, said Daley will meet a July 1 deadline for a plan set by congressional leaders by proposing adding just one runway along O'Hare's northern border, which would require demolition of fewer homes and businesses than a second new runway along its southern edge.

Additional runways at O'Hare, the nation's second-busiest after Atlanta's Hartsfield, could be proposed at some future date under Daley's proposal, the newspaper reported.

"It's still all speculation -- we'll find out tomorrow (Friday)," city aviation spokeswoman Monique Bond told Reuters. "First we want to present the plan to the governor to meet the July 1 deadline."

Bond said Daley, a Democrat, will first present the plan to Republican Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who will have final say on the project likely to cost in excess of $1 billion. Daley and Ryan have clashed on Ryan's support for building a third Chicago-area airport in Peotone, Illinois.

But the two have bowed to pressure from Illinois' two U.S. Senators, Democrat Dick Durbin and Republican Peter Fitzgerald, and influential Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, to get moving on an O'Hare expansion plan by July 1 or face federal intervention.

Major airlines that use O'Hare as a hub, including UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines , have advocated new runways to relieve congestion at the delay-prone airport and also sought ways to accommodate more flights.

According to the Tribune, Daley's proposal will also include another access road into O'Hare from the west to ease traffic congestion and appease opponents. The road has long been sought by suburban leaders, some of whom have been among the fiercest opponents of runway expansion because of the noise and pollution that additional flights would bring.

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Gosh I dont know what he's trying to pull, but ORD needs both runways quickly, now. I wish he'd just go for full blown expansion as soon as possible, but of course he's a political mastermind and might have something up his sleeve.