2025 Midwest Best Projects
Award of Merit, Airport/Transit: O'Hare 21 T5 Parking Garage
O’Hare 21 T5 Parking Garage
Chicago
Award of Merit
Submitted by AECOM Hunt Clayco Bowa Joint Venture
Owner: Chicago Dept. of Aviation
Lead Design Firm: SCB
General Contractor: AECOM Hunt Clayco Bowa Joint Venture
Civil Engineer: Milhouse Engineering and Construction
Structural Engineer: Thornton Thomasetti
MEP Engineer: Hydro-Thermo-Power
Working at one of the world’s busiest airports, this project entailed construction of a six-level, cast-in-place post-tension parking structure, accommodating 1,700 vehicles with an additional 650 in surface parking.
Featuring two helical ramps, two vehicular bridges, four elevators and two escalators, the garage connects seamlessly to Terminal 5 via a reconfigured pedestrian bridge.
Image courtesy of AECOM Hunt Clayco Bowa
Designed for functionality and durability, it incorporates modern safety, lighting and wayfinding systems and improves traffic flow, traveler convenience and regional connectivity. Constructing within an active airport required careful planning, staging and coordination with strict security protocols.
Daily meetings ensured alignment among stakeholders, while rigorous quality control maintained structural integrity. With over 500,000 work hours, the project achieved a lost-time incident rate of 0.37 and total recordable incident rate of 2.4, reflecting an exceptional safety record.
-07.webp?height=200&t=1730479123&width=200 "Newark Liberty International Airport – Rental Car Facility and Public Parking Garage (EWR ConRAC)")
