Chicago O'Hare Digs Up 50-Ton Boulder Under Airfield, Asks Public for Name Ideas

Construction crews at Chicago O’Hare uncovered a roughly 50‑ton boulder about 30 feet beneath the airfield while excavating the South Detention Basin for the ORDNext expansion. The rock measures about 11.5 feet wide, 8 feet deep and 7.5 feet tall and is composed of dolostone, a limestone‑related carbonate formed over millions of years. Reports indicate the find did not disrupt flight operations; it was identified during stormwater management work that is part of a larger $8.5 billion program to modernize terminals, add concourses and upgrade drainage across the airport’s pavement-heavy footprint.

Officials turned the discovery into a public engagement exercise, collecting nearly 3,000 name suggestions and narrowing them to six finalists: Sweet Stone Chicago, No ORDinary Rock, Chicago Rocks, O’Rock, Orchard Rock and Da Rock. Online voting runs through 5 p.m. Central on November 2, and the winning name will be displayed alongside the boulder in a planned airport exhibit (the name will not be carved into the stone). The contest builds local interest in ORDNext, leans on an internal nickname of “O’Hare bean,” and gives travelers a tangible reminder of the subterranean engineering behind the airport’s expansion.