The Washington Monument is scheduled to be reopened in August, following three years of closure, the National Park Service (NPS) announced.
The monument has been closed since August 2016. It was shut down for the construction of a new security facility and the modernization of the elevator that goes up to the observation floor.
The finalization of the new screening building was previously delayed because of possibly contaminated soil in the construction area and the renovation of the monument’s elevator was mainly finished by April. The planned reopening of the Washington Monument had to be pushed back to August due to mitigation efforts of the soil.
"The Washington Monument is scheduled to reopen in August — three years after its closure" https://t.co/Two4vXAD0U pic.twitter.com/igxSD9tdkY
— Lindsey Mastis (@LindseyMastis) July 25, 2019
In an earlier press release, the NPS assured D.C. residents that the potentially contaminated soil was “below the ground surface and poses no risk to public health.”
According to the NPS, the rehabilitation of the elevator is aiming to boost safety and long-term reliability.