I'm not certain we have to go back to copper.
Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport officials may not replace the copper on the top of the facility’s signature dome after it was torn off in a severe storm late last month.
“I’m not certain it will be copper,” said airport CEO Terry Hart about a replacement material. “I’m not certain we have to go back to copper.”
The airport’s current passenger terminal, featuring the dome, opened in 1992. Shortly after opening, some airline pilots complained about the sun’s reflection off the dome and airport officials dulled its surface.
Hart, who briefed the Airport Authority about repairs on Monday, said a crew from locally based J.D. Helton Roofing Co. was to use a material to temporarily cover nearly a third of the dome that was damaged after “a micro-burst” of wind and rain.