The tortoise and O'Hare: forwarders, airlines back legislation to modernize Chicago airport. (Air Commerce).(Brief Article)

Bill McInerney was on his way to a meeting with Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., in August 2000, when he encountered an all-too-familiar problem: He got stuck at a railroad crossing outside Chicago's O'Hare International Airport for more than an hour. He missed the meeting.

Ironically, McInerney, chief executive of Wood Dale, Ill.-based forwarder Phoenix International, was planning to attend the meeting to urge Hyde to support a plan to expand O'Hare and improve road access to the airport.

Traffic delays such as that are nothing new for forwarders, truckers and travelers who use O'Hare, the nation's busiest airport. Backups at the infamous Irving Park Road crossing …