This month’s groundbreaking for O’Hare Airport’s $1.3 billion Concourse D comes seven long years after officials first announced major plans for the big airport.

That’s quite a long time, even for O’Hare, where delays of some sort are par for the course.

But if built according to plan, the new 19-gate terminal — which promises day-lit interiors, natural plantings, 20,000 square feet of lounge space and even a children’s play area — just might be worth the wait.

Ryan Culligan, principal at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the firm leading the terminal’s design in collaboration with Ross Barney Architects, Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects and infrastructure experts Arup, said the project’s years-long delay might make for a better Concourse D.

“One of the benefits of having the time to develop t

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