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A year after Good Friday tornado, Lambert Airport shows few scars

US Congressman Lacy Clay commended the recovery work at Lambert Airport.
Joseph Leahy/St. Louis Public Radio
US Congressman Lacy Clay commended the recovery work at Lambert Airport.

A massive tornado tore through the St. Louis area a year ago this Sunday. Lambert Airport was hit particularly hard, but few signs of the damage remain today.  

Congressman Lacy Clay of St. Louis recalls seeing the airport just hours after the tornado struck on Good Friday.

“Once I got to the airport, I could not believe all of the glass that was blown out of the structure," Clay said. "And then looking at the parking lot: seeing the cars and vans that were on top of each other. It was just amazing.”

Clay says the airport is a different story today. Concourse C, which bore the brunt of the damage, is open again with a new roof. And, more than 500 shattered windows have been replaced. 

Airport officials estimate the total recovery cost at about $25 million – a small price, they say, considering no lives were lost.