Chicago O’Hare International Airport has broken ground on its planned Concourse D, a new “satellite concourse” that will house almost 20 new gates.
In a statement released Thursday, city officials said work on the $1.3 billion facility began earlier this month. It is expected to be completed by 2028.
Concourse D will include 19 new gates designed for narrowbody aircraft, with the flexibility to convert 18 of them into nine larger gates that can accommodate widebody jets. The concourse will include over 20,000 square feet of lounge space, 30,000 square feet of commercial space, and a 450-square-foot children’s play area.
City officials said there will be no immediate impact on passengers and airline operations in the earliest phases of construction.
Concourse D is part of a broader $8.2 billion airport modernization effort known as ORDNext. Other projects under ORDNext include the replacement of Terminal 2 with the O’Hare Global Terminal, the construction of a second satellite concourse with 24 gates, and an underground tunnel that will link the expanded facilities.
ORDNext is itself part of an even larger capital development program known as O’Hare 21, the largest expansion project in the airport’s history. Aside from the new terminal and concourses, O’Hare 21 calls for new runways, on-airport hotels, and an expanded airport transit system.
