Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the City of Chicago, U.S. Senators Durbin and Kirk, representatives from United and American Airlines, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a nearly $1.3 billion infrastructure plan for O’Hare International Airport that will create thousands of jobs over the life of the project. This historic agreement includes a new runway (Runway 9C/27C), deicing pads and other critical airfield projects, paving the way for further airport improvements that will allow O’Hare to increase the number of gates, modernize the terminals and secure Chicago’s future as one of the most important aviation hubs in the world. Runway 9C/27C, scheduled to be commissioned in 2020, will be used for arriving and departing aircraft. The 11,245-foot-long, 200-foot-wide runway will be the second largest runway at O’Hare. This runway will balance the capacity of the north airfield with that of the south airfield, providing increased flexibility for east and west flow operations, as well as balancing noise exposure among communities east and west of O’Hare. The city also plans to ensure that sound insulation of all eligible homes and schools will commence and be completed before the runway opens. The cost of construction for Runway 9C/27C is $648.5 million. This agreement will be finalized in 2018.