WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Brand new runways are opening at three major airports Thursday , giving the aviation community something to cheer about in a year of dismal economic and travel news . Washington Dulles International Airport 's new runway opens Thursday ahead of the busy holiday travel season . Washington Dulles International Airport will get a fourth runway , its first runway addition since the airport opened in 1962 . Chicago 's O'Hare International Airport 's new runway is part of a massive , multi-billion dollar modernization program . Previously , six of the airport 's seven runways intersected . When the entire project is completed in 2014 , the airport will have eight runways in parallel configurations considered safer and more efficient . Seattle-Tacoma International Airport 's new runway is being especially welcomed because of the region 's notoriously wet climate . The airport 's third runway will allow planes to take off and land two abreast during inclement weather . The current runways are too close to allow simultaneous operations in foul weather . Airport officials claim the new runway will cut delays in half . Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said travelers will benefit from coast to coast . See runways at the three airports » . `` It is going to make a difference , '' Peters said . `` It is going to allow us to conduct more operations , meaning more takeoffs and landings per hour at these airports and will help move passengers efficiently through . `` That , we hope , will give travelers a good experience this holiday season , '' she said . President Bush , this week , touted the arrival of the three new runways , noting that 14 new runways will have opened during his administration . However , aviation experts warn airport infrastructure still lags behind demand , and that real estate realities in the New York area , perceived to be the epicenter of aviation delays , mean that new runways are least likely to be built where they are most needed . Watch what Web sites offer best travel deals » . `` It would really be nice if we had even one new runway '' at each of the nation 's most congested airports , namely LaGuardia , Newark and JFK , '' aviation consultant Darryl Jenkins said . `` It would do an enormous amount to relieve congestion throughout the entire nation . '' iReport.com : What are your holiday travel plans ? Jenkins said new runways in New York are pipe dreams because of land constraints and local opposition . `` Local opposition wins . There 's no opposition that is as tough to beat down as local opposition , '' he said . Chicago O'Hare 's International Airport , which has purchased more than 500 single-family homes to make room for expansion , remains in court battles with several property owners . Aviation experts argue the experience at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia demonstrate that new runways are invaluable to airlines and travelers . A new runway that opened there in 2006 has increased operations by 25 to 30 flights an hour , shaved minutes off average flight delays and saved airlines $ 10 million a week in fuel costs , airport officials said . Air traffic controllers are generally happy with the added concrete they will lord over . `` There 's no greater supporter of runways than controllers , '' said Doug Church , spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association ( NATCA ) . `` It 's reason to shout and celebrate from the rooftops . '' However , the new Dulles airport runway may not be of much benefit at the start . Controller Chris Sutherland , the NATCA representative for the Potomac Consolidated Terminal Radar Approach Control ( TRACON ) , explained that because only one taxiway has been completed , planes that land heading north must roll to a stop , turn around and taxi more than a mile and a half to the taxiway , costing the airlines both time and money . `` Bottom line , the users are going to fight us tooth and nail if we try to land them on that runway out there , '' Sutherland said . The airport also does not have the technology necessary to use all three parallel runways in inclement weather , he said . `` We 're actually creating delays with additional new concrete and that 's kind of going against why we built it in the first place , '' Sutherland said . An airport official and Department of Transportation officials said Washington-Dulles International Airport must open the new runway before it can close the center runway and complete work on the remaining taxiways . Work is scheduled for the spring . Jenkins jokingly said new runways inevitably come on line precisely when they are not needed , but he said airline delays are here to stay . `` There 's every reason to believe that until we 're all comfortably dead , we will all enjoy delays in air traffic , '' Jenkins said .
New airport projects open up in Boston , Chicago and Washington . Some say new runways will make airports safer , more efficient . However , aviation experts caution airport infrastructure still lags behind demand .