Lambert Airport repairs from tornado may take year

ST. LOUIS -- Officials at Lambert Airport in St. Louis say it could take up to a year to fully recover from the April 22 tornado. The twister that damaged hundreds of homes in St. Louis County made a direct hit on the airport. No one was killed but the airport was badly damaged, especially Concourse C. Airport director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge told the St. Louis Airport Commission on Wednesday that preliminary engineering reports indicate restoration of Concourse C could take nine to 12 months. She said the structure is intact, but the roof must be replaced along with many of the windows in Terminal 1 that had been in place since 1956.