O'Hare braces for big Fourth of July travel weekend

The Fourth of July weekend may turn out to be another record-setting travel time for O'Hare, just as the next phase of construction begins at the global airport.

Why it matters: Americans continue to travel in record numbers despite higher airfares and fuel prices.

Reality check: Even after FAA-imposed flight reductions aimed at easing congestion, O'Hare is still scheduled to handle more flights this summer than last year.

The latest: United said roughly 93,000 passengers departed O'Hare last Sunday and expects heavy crowds leading into the holiday weekend.

The airline says Thursday will be the busiest travel day at O'Hare this week, with over 85,000 United passengers, a 17% increase from last year. Sunday is expected to be the second-busiest, with 78,000 United passengers.

The TSA says it expects to screen nearly 18.7 million passengers in the U.S. between Tuesday and Monday, July 6.

More than 72 million people are expected to travel over the weekend, setting a new record, according to AAA.

The intrigue: AAA projects 4.29 million Illinoisans will travel at least 50 miles from home over the holiday weekend, with a record 3.8 million expected to drive.

The big picture: As O'Hare prepares for another busy holiday, it's simultaneously preparing for its future. City officials cleared a major milestone in the airport's long-term expansion, approving a $1.455 billion agreement to build the new 19-gate Concourse D.

"By locking in a price cap $21 million below budget for the new Concourse D, we are giving our airline partners cost certainty, giving passengers a clearer path to a modernized O'Hare, and giving Chicago confidence that this historic program is moving forward responsibly," Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a release.

Concourse D is the first major construction phase of the $8.8 billion ORDNext expansion, which will eventually replace Terminal 2 with a new Global Terminal and two satellite concourses.

Construction is expected to ramp up quickly, with a tower crane arriving this month and structural steel going up next month.

The bottom line: O'Hare is handling record demand today while betting on even more travelers tomorrow.