May be soon your journey to visit the Statue of Liberty will extend from the toes to the crown of the statue if the house prevails. The house has been prodding national parks official to reopen the crown of the statue of liberty for tourists.
Statue of liberty at sunset, Image credit
It has approved an appropriations bill for the Department of the Interior this afternoon that contains a provision urging that the Statue of Liberty’s crown be reopened to the public for the first time since the 9/11 attack.
Liberty Island
The statue, which sits on 12-acre Liberty Island in New York Harbor, was shut down after Sept. 11, 2001. After spending $20 million on security and safety improvements, the government reopened the statue in 2004.
Liberty Close-Up, Image credit
New security measures included a bomb detection device that blows air into clothing and then checks for particles of explosives residue. Bomb-sniffing dogs also have been seen at the site.
Inside statue of liberty’s crown taken on 11 September, 2005, Image credit
For the second year in a row an amendment was added to a spending bill giving the National Park Service $1 million to study how to safely re-open the staircase to the statue’s crown.
Statue of Liberty Original Torch, Image credit
Tourists are now allowed only as far as the pedestal, at Lady Liberty’s toes. National Park Service officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment after the bill was passed.
The National Park Service, which oversees the statue, has said earlier that the narrow staircase to the crown is a fire hazard and terrorism risk.
Inside statue of liberty’s crown taken on 11 September, 2005, Image credit
Last year after passage of a similar bill, the park service said safety did not permit the crown to be reopened. It will be a pity if it remains off limits for good, like the torch, which closed in 1916.
Image credit for first image
Source: Washington Post
