A $310 million project to update and expand the popular Airport Transit System — nicknamed the “people mover” — at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport began in 2015, and the trains were supposed to largely remain running. But passengers were instead forced into a fleet of buses lumbering slowly through airport traffic for years until 24-hour service was resumed in April 2022.
Here is how the project unfolded:
August 2013
Construction begins on a massive $800 million “multimodal facility” to house rental cars, economy parking and airport dropoff/pickup for regional buses, regional rail and hotel shuttles. The project, overseen by Austin Power Partners, includes building a 1/3-mile elevated guideway to connect the new facility to the end of the light-rail system known as the people mover.
January 2014
The city seeks bids for another firm to oversee installation of tracks on both the new 1/3-mile portion of the people mover and the existing 2.7-mile system, along with new electronics, new cars and more cars. Bid specifications call for the people mover to largely remain open during work.
April 2015
Parsons signs a $310 million, 3 1/2-year contract that notes “interruption of service must be kept to an absolute minimum.” Updated specifications say any shutdowns have to be approved by city and can’t occur during peak hours between terminals. Work is to be substantially complete by December 2018.
September 2015
The project quickly runs into disputes over when Parsons can begin its share of work on the new portion of the elevated guideway, eventually leading Parsons to complain that the project will be delayed.
May 2016
Parsons begins to push out the completion date of the project, citing delays in getting access to the new guideway built by the other firm hired by the city.
July 2016
Parsons begins requesting that the city provide busing to cover periodic shutdowns of the people mover, which the city does not initially approve. Parsons complains that the project will be delayed further.
August 2017
After a year of debate about people mover shutdowns, the city agrees to weeknight shutdowns for six hours.
January 2018
The city expands people mover shutdowns to last from 6:45 p.m. to 4:45 a.m. Airport users are told the shutdowns will last two months.
March 2018
Contract disputes go to mediation. The city complains that Parsons is dragging its feet amid some poor work. Parsons complains that the city is to blame for long delays and poor work by the other contractor the city hired.
April 2018
As the city and Parsons work toward an agreement, the city adjusts the people mover shutdowns to last from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekdays.
May 2018
The city and Parsons sign an agreement that pays Parsons $23 million more, extends the project completion date to September 2019 and agrees to partial or full shutdowns of the people mover through the project’s end. The deal begins with immediate weekday shutdowns of the people mover through early 2019, with short respites for holiday travelers.
January 2019
The city begins a complete shutdown of the people mover, to last through the end of the project.
August 2019
The Chicago Department of Aviation announced it was pushing back the reopening date from September 2019 to Thanksgiving following negotiations between the city and the contractor. In a statement Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee said, “This has been a challenging project, frustrating at times, but the end result will bring a new level of reliability and convenience to O’Hare.”
October 2019
Citing an unspecified “mechanical issue discovered during on-track testing,” the Chicago Department of Aviation said work on the “people mover” would not expected to be completed until early 2020.
June 2021
With air travel creeping up in recent months after a steep drop at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the “people mover” is still not running. The contractor has not provided an updated completion date, said Christine Carrino, a spokeswoman for the Aviation Department. “Substantial” testing procedures must be completed, and that work is continuing, she said in an email. The contract with Parsons contract has been upped to $340 million, Carrino said.
November 2021
The people mover reopens on a limited schedule.
April 18, 2022
After years of construction, O’Hare’s people mover resumes 24-hour service.
Sources: Chicago Department of Aviation records and Tribune reporting