LAX’s Modular Marvel Takes Flight

Imagine nine massive concourse modules, each the size of a football field, creeping across Los Angeles International Airport’s tarmac at dawn, like gigantic puzzle pieces sliding into place.

This is no sci-fi scene. It’s the Midfield Satellite Concourse (MSC) South expansion, where SMACNA member Xcel Mechanical Systems is installing $18 million in HVAC and sheet metal work to ready LAX for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

The 150,000-square-foot, two-story addition brings eight new gates and passenger-friendly upgrades, including more shops, dining and breathing room, without ever shutting down the nation’s second-busiest airfield. Pioneering off-site construction and relocation, crews built the segments a mile north, then convoyed them across active runways in a first for LAX (only the second such feat at any U.S. airport). “Moving a building across an airport runway is just the coolest job anyone will see,” marvels Xcel Project Executive Chris Balch, a former sheet metal worker.

Xcel kicked off the project in January 2024, finishing all remote-site rough-ins, including ductwork threading through future retail zones and roof levels, before the modules touched down. Spiral and rectangular ducts came from fellow SMACNA member Superior Duct. On the airfield is where the real ballet began: every truck and crew of 20 to 25 tradespeople passed through “Post 23” security and was escorted across the tarmac. “All delivery trucks got inspected,” says Sheet Metal General Foreman Eric Mutter. He planned two weeks ahead to dodge delays, targeting 25,000 man-hours with possible 12-hour shifts and dual crews.

Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) Chief Development Officer Michael Christensen praises the method’s efficiency: it saves time, cuts costs and creates local jobs while delivering “incredible facilities.” Xcel, no LAX rookie after dozens of terminal upgrades (plus Boeing, UCLA and Cedars-Sinai gigs), thrives amid the security shuffle. Balch shrugs: “You plan for it and execute.”

Published: March 6, 2026

SMACNews January/February 2026

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