As the sun shined Thursday and brought the temperature up to 92 degrees, reconstruction began at Capital Bowl over a month after the May 22 tornado heavily damaged the bowling alley.
Capital Bowl, at 2017 Christy Drive, has been closed since the May 22 tornado that damaged many businesses and homes in Jefferson City. According to its Facebook page, Capital Bowl allowed bowlers to come to the building to retrieve any equipment from lockers in the days after the storm.
The heat didn't deter construction workers from beginning the demolition on part of the building. The crew started putting up a temporary outside wall on one side of the building and will soon make temporary repairs to part of the damaged roof, said Adam Younger, superintendent for KMB Construction, which is based out of Poplar Bluff.
The temporary repairs will allow for a crucial step in recovery for the building - drying. The inside of the building has been soaked with rain since the damage was done. No other repairs can be made until it's dry, said Jeff Missey, job site supervisor for BELFOR Property Restoration. BELFOR is a disaster recovery and property restoration service that responds to natural disasters across the United States.
"Everything inside has to be taken out - all the wet carpet, all the drywall, all the drop ceilings - so we can get some equipment in there and dry it out," Missey said. "Then they can go to the next stage of hopefully putting it back together."
Missey estimates the beginning repair work will take around three weeks. After that, drying will likely take another few weeks. In order to dry out the building, large dehumidifiers and air movers will be brought in. Then, any mold from the rain will need to be removed.
After that, Missey said the timeline isn't certain. They won't know how long full remodeling will take until they can fully examine the amount of damage. But, he said the owners are planning to eventually reopen.
"That's what we're here for - to make it new again," Missey said.