Washington Monument to Remain Closed for Repairs Until 2019
The Washington Monument, one of Washington, D.C.’s most recognizable landmarks and the centerpiece of the National Mall, will remain closed for at least two years as workers modernize the structure’s elevator and construct a permanent screening facility, the National Park Service announced today.
The monument has been shuttered since August following three separate closures, including one after a cable broke loose from the bottom of its elevator. Efforts to evaluate necessary repairs occurred at the end of the summer and initially estimated a nine-month time frame to overhaul the elevator. That projection was revised today to include additional work, pushing back the reopening of the monument until 2019.
“We’ve added a second component of the project which is [the screening facility,]” said National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst. “That was already on the agenda, but rather than one after the other, we’re hoping to do it concurrently.”
Completed in 1888, the 555-foot-tall obelisk has undergone a series of repairs in recent decades. A major restoration shrouded the structure in scaffolding from 1998 to 2001 as it underwent a cleaning and added new exhibits. Then, following an earthquake in August 2011, almost two years of work went into repairing cracks and broken stone in the monument.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/washington-monument-remain-closed-repairs-2019/story?id=43936725
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