Design Develop Construct Journal (Fall 2023) has featured W.E. O’Neil in an article highlighting our culture, values, and nearly 100-year history. The piece also showcases our pioneering role in the expansion of LAX’s Midfield Satellite Concourse (MSC) South, a crucial part of the airport’s preparations for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics.
A summary is below. Read the entire article in this PDF or on DDC’s website here.
West Gates at LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal in the foreground with the future MSC South site in the background. (Courtesy Los Angeles World Airports)
(article summary)
At LAX, contractor W.E. O’Neil is partnering with the airport to use an innovative building technique at one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs
Together with Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), Woods Bagot, and many other team members, W.E. O’Neil Construction is revolutionizing the way work can be built at LAX and at other airfields around the country. LAX’s newest concourse will add eight gates in an accelerated timeline through a unique Offsite Construction and Relocation (OCR) building technique—first-of-its-kind at LAX.
LAWA is making great strides toward completing its multibillion-dollar and multi-phase Capital Improvement Program (CIP) in anticipation of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Midfield Satellite Concourse (MSC) South, part of the CIP’s second phase, will expand the existing concourse (the West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal) to increase its operational capacity for the 2026 World Cup, 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and for general passenger needs for many decades thereafter.
Once the project is complete, MSC South will be a two-story concourse adding approximately 150,000 SF and eight gates for narrowbody aircraft. The project team completed upfront work this past summer and W.E. O’Neil has since moved on to the bulk of construction. MSC South has an estimated completion date of 2025—a year that coincides with W.E. O’Neil’s 100-year anniversary.
Rendering of LAX’s Midfield Satellite Concourse (MSC) South. (Courtesy Los Angeles World Airports)
Courtesy Los Angeles World Airports
Building the Expansion Offsite
MSC South will be built in nine segments roughly a mile and a half away from the project’s site and then carefully delivered and assembled in place with a high degree of control and supervision. The OCR technique is both innovative and adaptive, saving public funds and time with a high degree of building control and supervision.
“Together with LAWA and the project team, we’ve created a landside factory where the concourse’s sections will be constructed. From there, each section will be moved on the runway and set in place at the building site,” says Brian Rush, W.E. O’Neil’s Vice President of Preconstruction.
Building off-site allows the project team to accelerate the construction timeline and make it easier to stay on schedule. The OCR technique also reduces disruptions to LAX’s ongoing operations.
“The big savings of this application is time,” says Jim Nelson, Project Executive at W.E. O’Neil. “We can concurrently build on the airfield all of the underground utilities, the mat foundation—all of that work we can do at the same time that we’re actually building the structures in the corner of the property.”
W.E. O’Neil’s success isn’t solely attributed to our innovative methods: we prioritize strong relationships. Chief Operating Officer John Finn underscores the value of partnerships, stating that their commitment to fostering these relationships has been key to their growth and success.
“We build great relationships: internal and external. We believe in that wholeheartedly. That’s how we’ve become a 100-year-old company,” Finn says. “Eighty percent of our clients are repeat because we value that relationship.”
Nearly 100 Years, and a Top Firm
The pursuit of great people and partnerships has led W.E. O’Neil to where it is today. This year, W.E. O’Neil moved up to the 95th spot in Engineering News-Record’s Top 400 General Contractors. The company will reach its centennial anniversary in 2025 as a 100-percent employee-owned company with 12 offices across six states, the latest of which are located in Pleasanton and Austin, and plans to keep growing.
A century’s worth of growth has prepared W.E. O’Neil to take on amazing projects like MSC South. The team at W.E. O’Neil is excited to leave their mark on LAX and be a part of something bigger.
One of the things I’m most proud of is our people. Our people are dedicated to our clients’ and our design partners’ vision.
John Finn, COO
