CHICAGO (AP) -- City officials have underestimated the cost of a proposed $15 billion expansion of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport that's meant to relieve flight congestion nationwide, according to a government review of the project.
An inaccurate assessment of the O'Hare project costs could affect funding for airports nationwide because cities compete for money from the same federal Airport Improvement Program, according to the report by Transportation Department inspector general Kenneth Mead. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the report on Thursday, the day Mead sent it to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA needs to verify the city's cost estimates will cover the project to build new runways and terminals even if it runs into delays and cost overruns.
''The Federal Aviation Administrator needs to ensure the public's investment in the project is protected,'' said the report, which is scheduled to be released Monday.
Mead did not offer a revised cost estimate, but noted that some project expenses - including iron and steel prices - have increased since the plan was proposed in 2001.
Chicago officials have requested an ''unprecedented'' $528 million in grants for the project, along with an additional $248 million to finance capital improvements over the next 20 years, the report said.
Opponents of the O'Hare project hailed the report as a victory and fodder they can use to try to block the plan in court.
''I just can't tell you how vindicated we feel,'' said Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson, whose Chicago suburb opposes expanding O'Hare along with the village of Bensenville and others. ''What it means to us is we have immense credibility and evidence that it's not just us saying the plan doesn't add up.''
The proposed expansion plan, which has yet to receive FAA approval, calls for longer and wider runways and taxiways, new terminals and parking spaces for oversize jets and passenger jet bridges.
In 2001, the city estimated the expansion's first phase would cost $2.9 billion and the second phase $3.7 billion. That number was increased to $14.8 billion in 2004 to account for inflation.
Rosemarie Andolino, director of the expansion program for the city, did not immediately return a call for comment Thursday.
The FAA's decision on the expansion project is expected in September, agency spokesman Greg Martin said.
''We will review the IG's report very carefully and take their decisions to heart to make sure we do get the decision right,'' he said.
The city's plan also requires a redesign of air traffic patterns. Mead said those changes would be worthless unless they are reconfigured in airports across the region, from Cleveland to Minneapolis.
The FAA has hired an independent financial consultant to analyze the plan's costs and will appoint a senior official to coordinate planned airspace changes, according to the report.
''Certainly we realize that any work that happens on the surface ... also has to be complimented by airspace redesign and we're working full speed ahead on that,'' Martin said.
