NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- The price tag for fixing the Katrina-shredded roof of the New Orleans Superdome comes to $32 million, more than twice the original estimate.
Replacing the roof's decking is responsible for much of the increase from $14 million, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported. A shorter deadline for completing repairs added to the cost.
Doug Thornton, regional manager for SMG, the dome's operator, told the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District that the color may also be changed from its current off-white.
The Superdome served as a refuge during the floods that followed Katrina for many New Orleans residents driven from their homes by the rising waters. The roof, constructed in 2002 and designed to withstand 140 mph winds and to last for 20 years, had already been heavily damaged by hurricane winds.
The Superdome is scheduled to reopen Sept. 1, midway through the 2006 hurricane season.
