Proposed Upgrades at Midway Airport Could Bring 1,700 Jobs

Photo: Artist’s rendering of security addition at Midway International Airport in Chicago. |Leopardo Construction

A proposed plan to upgrade facilities at Chicago Midway Airport could bring 1,700 concession and construction jobs to the Southwest Side.

City officials are expected to reveal improvements Thursday for expanded concession facilities, security checkpoints and parking options, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The project is the biggest investment to be made in Midway in over a decade.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel also announced on Wednesday that Illinois received $10.2 million in funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration for sound mitigation.

Durbin’s office said that $210,000 will be used to purchase additional equipment. The remained of the funds -- $10 million -- will be used to soundproof homes near Midway.

“Last year, more than 21 million passengers traveled through Chicago’s Midway Airport, which provides direct access to the region for visitors and businesses,” Durbin said in a written statement. “This federal investment will ensure that this critical transportation link can continue to grow while limiting disturbance to the children and families who live nearby.”

Since the FAA changed flight paths at Midway in 2014, noise complaints have increased across 14 south suburban communities, according to The Reporter. Noise complaints nearly doubled between April and June, totaling 4,844 from complaints made in the first quarter of 2015.

An aviation consultant recently told residents at a town hall hosted last month by the Midway Noise Compatibility Commission that most of the complaints made about noise were between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. At least 75 percent of those complaints came from just six addresses, The Reporter said.

The grant will fund sound insulation at homes that experience higher than normal sound volume near the airport. Whether the area of eligible homes will be expanded to towns further away from Midway is not known.