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A behind-the-scenes look at AFA's chapel restoration

The United States Air Force Academy began a restoration of the Cadet Chapel in 2019.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo — An iconic Colorado chapel has reached a big milestone after four years of intricate restoration.

The United States Air Force Academy (AFA) said the project to restore the Cadet Chapel will move from a demolition phase to the start of restoration on Thursday.

The current project, which began in 2019, is designed to permanently solve a water leakage problem, repair related damage, and restore the chapel.

The 1,008th and final piece of the chapel's famous aluminum exterior will be removed Thursday.

According to the Air Force Academy, the chapel faced water intrusion almost immediately after being built from 1959 to 1962.

A planned interior water barrier behind the exterior aluminum was engineered out of the project as a cost-savings effort and replaced with 32 miles of asbestos caulking that did not work. The Academy said efforts to mitigate the problem over the years concealed some architectural features from public view and did not stop continued water damage inside the chapel.

See photos inside the Cadet Chapel restoration:

AFA said that more than 720 people have worked on the restoration project for more than 400,000 man-hours and 147 dumpsters of asbestos-containing material was removed from the chapel.

"As the last exterior aluminum panel is removed from the Cadet Chapel, it marks the end of the preparation process and the beginning of putting the Chapel back together, to include adding the interior water barrier that was left out of the original project," said Duane Boyle, United States Air Force Academy Architect.

"Although we still have a long way to go before reopening to the public, we’re committed to getting this right, from solving the water intrusion issue, to ensuring that the building is brought back to its original design intent for the Academy, the region, and the nation to enjoy."

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