LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A state commission has approved spending an estimated $181,000 on emergency repairs to the Nebraska Capitol’s gold-tiled dome.
Bob Ripley is administrator for the Office of the Capitol Commission, and he says the work to protect the dome from moisture and winter’s freeze-thaw cycles likely will begin in mid-October.
A July inspection discovered caulking applied to expansion joints in 2001 had deteriorated so much that water was getting inside the inner dome structure. Ripley says some tiles had been moved out of place, raising the risk they could fall off.
Plans for the emergency repairs call for workers to rappel down the dome and temporarily seal the expansion joints to keep the tiles in place.
Ripley says the longer-term solution will require scaffolding so workers can remove tiles, fix the underlying structure and put the tiles back into place.
