The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has invited the City of Chicago to apply for a federal loan to fund construction of an $884 million intermodal facility at Chicago's O’Hare International Airport.

Along with previously issued bonds, a $292-million federal loan would finance development of a multi-story facility that consolidates rental-car and public parking while extending an existing airport transit system at O'Hare. 

Assuming the city's application is approved, USDOT would authorize the loan under a provision of the 1998 Transportation Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act, which provides credit assistance for infrastructure projects of national or regional significance.

As planned, the facility would provide nearly 4,100 rental car parking spaces and 2,000 public parking spaces, with the transit extension linking rental cars, public parking, public roadways and city and regional commuter lines to O'Hare.

According to city estimates, the project would eliminate 1.3 million vehicle trips on terminal roadways each year, resulting in energy savings sufficient to power more 600 homes on an annual basis.

The facility would “provide a more operationally efficient and sustainable facility, spurring economic growth and building upon efforts to make O’Hare the most convenient international hub in the world,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel indicated in a statement.

According to the city, the facility would create 3,000 construction jobs.

“This project will be one of the largest capital improvements ever constructed at O’Hare and be among the largest airport developments under way in the U.S.,” Chicago Department of Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie S. Andolino indicated in a statement.