REGINA – Work to restore the dome of the Saskatchewan legislature is complete and the shiny new copper top was unveiled Monday evening to thousands of residents.
The dome of the legislature was originally built in 1912 and has been under scaffolding and white plastic for about two years.
A special ceremony preceded the unveiling with the Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan Vaughn Schofield and Premier Brad Wall in attendance.
The unveiling took approximately ten minutes to complete as residents watched and filmed the entire process.
However, only the front scaffolding was unveiled as the province said the remaining scaffolding won’t be removed for another few weeks once all the final touches are completed.
READ MORE: Delays, $6M cost increase for Sask. legislature dome renos
Nearly 7,000 stones were repaired and 13,000 kilograms of new copper were installed.
“It’s very fortunate that we’ve been here to see this as it goes and see the copper go in and the stone get repaired, and it’s exciting to let everyone see what we’ve seen,” Project manager Jerrod Keuler said.
Keuler also says the copper on the dome will age to a green-black patina over the next year or two, depending on the weather and which direction it faces.
Water damaged the stone over the years and about 17.5 tonnes of new stone from Tyndall, Manitoba was needed to repair it.
Originally the project was estimated to cost $15 million and was to be completed by the end of 2015. However, unforeseen construction circumstances caused delays and increased the budget by $6 million.
The province says the total cost of dome restoration is $21 million.
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