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After six years of construction, the historic Midway Airport Terminal Development Program is complete. Clark/McHugh/Rausch A Joint Venture served as the general contractor on the $250 million terminal/concourse project at the airport. Work included a new 941,000-square-foot terminal building, expanded ticket counters and baggage claim areas, new concourses and spacious airline gates, new shops and restaurants, a central heating plant, and new airport roadways.
Today Chicago Midway serves 18½ million passengers - almost twice as many as when construction began - and it is one of the fastest-growing airports in the nation.
More importantly, it generates 90,000 jobs and pumps $7 billion into the Chicago area economy each year, as a recent study by the consulting firm of Booz Allen Hamilton reports.
In response to passenger growth and the needs of the new airlines, a number of enhancements were added to the original Terminal Development design. These include the flyover entrance off of Cicero Avenue to improve access to the airport and ease local traffic, extension of the terminal road canopy to protect passengers from rain and snow, and additional gates and passenger amenities.
The entire cost of the Terminal Development Program, including security enhancements following September 11, 2001, required no state or local tax dollars. Funding came from federal transportation grants, airport generated revenue and Passenger Facility Charges.
Throughout the project, the City also remained committed to not only rebuild Midway but to include area residents and local firms in the construction and redevelopment process. Through the Midway Partners for Economic Development, more than 100 area residents secured construction jobs or apprenticeships to gain the skills and experience needed to build careers in the trades and over $75 million of the work was performed by local area disadvantaged businesses.
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