Soaring gas prices have claimed plenty of victims – from SUV sales to stock market portfolios. They now threaten to claim another: the expansion of one of the world's busiest airports. Chicago wants to complete the expansion of O'Hare International Airport, which relies heavily on revenue from cash-strapped airlines, by 2014 – two years before the Midwestern US city hopes to host the Summer Olympics. But carriers serving Chicago now appear reluctant to put up more money to finish the job because high fuel costs have cut so deeply into industry revenue, forcing airlines to raise fares, slash flights and lay off workers. Chicago officials say the expansion project is critical, and not just for the city and state economy. New runways and a new terminal envisioned in the project, they say, will greatly reduce delays that now gum up air traffic nationwide.
