WASHINGTON -- An elite team of professionals rappelled down the Washington Monument on Wednesday -- to inspect the damage done to the 555-foot marble obelisk by last month's earthquake.
As tourists squinted at the tiny figures, two men and two women climbed from a hatch and observation windows at the top of the monument and slowly began lowering themselves with ropes and harnesses down its pyramid-shaped cap, where a large, inch-wide crack was located and where they expected to find the most damage.
Engineers said that the 1884 landmark is structurally sound but that they need to catalog every defect so they can determine how long it will take to repair it and reopen it to the public.
During the daredevil inspection, which is expected to last several days, the intrepid climbers will work their way up and down the sides of the entire monument, snap photos with a digital camera and tap the stones with a soft mallet, listening for indications of damage.
-- Associated Press
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Read more...