Airports
Chicago Airport May Shorten Runway

While pilots using Chicago Waukegan Airport await news of when the airport’s 6,000-foot Runway 5/23 might be extended to 7,000 feet–a more comfortable length for jet operations–interagency conflicts could ultimately lead to a reduction of the runway’s usable length.

According to Waukegan Port District executive director Duncan Henderson, the FAA has said it does not have the money to meet the Lake County Forest Preserve District’s price demands for the land onto which the runway would be extended. “The necessary land is part of the Waukegan Savanna, and the Forest Preserve District wants about $100,000 per acre,” said Henderson. “That brings the total cost of the runway extension, including a widening of nearby Green Bay Road, to about $140 million.”

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