Statue of Liberty to shut down for renovation

The Statue of Liberty in the USA will soon be closed for repairs. The statue will not be accessible for about a year, but the island on which it stands can be accessed by visitors. Officials said that the statue will undergo repairs of $27.25 million starting from the month of October 2011.

The announcement of the renovation was made by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar last week.

Currently, tourists are permitted to enter in small numbers from the base before they access the world-famous crown.

The statue will remain open on October 28th, which will be the celebration of its 125th anniversary.

The officials have assured that they aim to make the statue even more accessible by bringing improvements in the stairway inside the monument. Renovations will also be made to fire safety devices, elevators and the restrooms.

Work for the renovation will begin the day following the celebration. Meanwhile, the island will be accessible by tourists. Access to the interior of the statue was barred after the September 11, 2001 attack in New York on the Twin Towers. It was reopened two years back to a highly restricted group of tourists.