West Virginia’s Capitol Building Commission has approved a project to repair water leakage issues in the Capitol dome and an engineer has advised the commission that repairs also are needed for its suspension system.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that Rex Cyphers, an engineer with WDP and Associates of Charlottesville, says metal cables that suspend the interior dome from the superstructure have failed.
Cyphers says there’s no imminent risk, but engineers determined that the walls are pushing out because they bear the weight of the interior dome.
He says that should be corrected “as expeditiously as possible.”
The budgeted $8 million project to fix water leakage problems is expected to take two years funded with state Lottery surplus revenue.