Indianapolis International Airport Concourses

When Indianapolis opened its new $1.1 billion Midfield Terminal and Concourses, Hillsdale Fabricators was brought in by prime steel contractor Cives Steel Co. to fabricate the terminal’s signature roof system. Hillsdale Fabricators produced the serpentine structural roof trusses and tapered-pipe columns, shipping many of the 115-foot-long trusses complete from its St. Louis, Missouri, facility.

The 10-foot-deep trusses paired a wide-flange top chord with welded pipe members and a 16-inch-diameter bottom chord, creating the flowing roof profile across the terminal. Hillsdale Fabricators also fabricated tapered “torpedo” columns from 24-inch-diameter pipe with 8-foot conical sections at both ends. With the columns left exposed as AESS, the work required tight tolerances and a high-quality finish.