The Washington Monument reopened Wednesday after its elevator had broken down a day earlier — the fifth time since the monument resumed operations in 2014 following a three-year closure to repair earthquake damage.
Michael Litterst, a spokesman for the National Park Service, which maintains the monument, said Tuesday’s “elevator interruption” was caused when the control system detected a high electrical current beyond its preset limit.
“The system functioned as it is designed to, and shut down for the safety of visitors and staff, as well as the equipment,” Mr. Litterst said.
On Tuesday, the elevator — which takes people to the observation deck near the top of the 555-foot obelisk — stopped suddenly in the middle of the monument. Eighteen visitors and a National Park Service ranger were trapped in the elevator, and 22 people and a ranger were stuck on the observation deck at the time. Everyone was evacuated safely via the staircase.
D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton expressed concern that frequent breakdowns could have “a particularly detrimental effect on, for example, visiting elderly groups, pregnant women, and those with disabilities.”
Mr. Litterst said the park service is exploring options to keep the elevator in service, including expanding the preventative maintenance program and replacing the control system for the elevator.
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Mrs. Norton, the District’s nonvoting representative in Congress, said she spoke Tuesday with Gay Vietzke, superintendent of National Mall and Memorial Parks, who told her the agency is looking at the monument’s 20-year-old mechanical system that controls the elevator. The system was not upgraded during the monument’s renovation after the 2011 earthquake, she said.
“Based on my conversation with Superintendent Vietzke, I believe that NPS has begun to understand that the problem goes well beyond the elevator itself, but also to other outdated features, such as the elevator control system,” Mrs. Norton said.
In recent months the elevator has been plagued with problems, though not all related to the control system. In May, the monument was closed due to a power failure in the elevator and again in June to repair mechanical issues. In August, another malfunction shut down the attraction. Last month, the iconic symbol was closed for a few days after a contractor accidentally damaged the elevator control box while working on a separate issue inside the monument.
The Washington Monument was badly damaged in a rare, 5.8-magnitude earthquake that hit the D.C. region on Aug. 23, 2011, and caused more than 150 cracks in the marble structure.
Repairing the cracks took about three years and cost about $15 million, half of which was funded through a donation by D.C. philanthropist David Rubenstein. Taxpayer funds paid for the remaining $7.5 million.
A 2012 damage assessment study by engineering firms Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates and Tipping Mar said the elevator rails and framing should be inspected and repaired as needed before reopening the monument.
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“The counterweights were noted to have shifted in the earthquake and one of the bolts holding them together had failed,” the report said. “At a minimum, the counterweights should be realigned and the failed bolt or rod should be replaced.”
There was no mention of any damage to the control system, which has caused elevator outages since the monument reopened nearly two years ago.
• Ryan M. McDermott can be reached at rmcdermott@washingtontimes.com.
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