Statue of Liberty to close for yearlong renovations

The Statue of Liberty will close for a year at the end of October for a $27.25 million renovation, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced Wednesday.

The renovations will make the monument safer and more accessible, the Associated Press reports, and Liberty Island, where the statue stands, will remain open to visitors.

Tegan Firth, a spokeswoman for Statue Cruises, which ferries people to the island, told the AP that the statue will remain visible and that the "entire experience of visiting these national landmarks of the United States remains absolutely the same."

According to a statement released by Salazar, the statue will close on October 29, one day after its 125th anniversary.

The work will be done by Joseph A. Natoli Construction Corp. of New Jersey. Work will be done on the structure's elevators, restrooms and mechanical, electrical and fire-suppression systems. Code compliant stairways will also be installed.

"With today’s announcement, we are taking a major step in bringing a 19th Century icon into the 21st Century," Salazar said in the statement.

The Guardian reports that part of the reason for the work on the statue is that "the newest fire codes mandate escape routes that would allow the statue to be evacuated within two hours," something not currently possible.

Two years ago, officials reopened the statue's crown to visitors, after closing it following the 9/11 attacks.

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, and designated as a National Monument in 1924. It was previously restored for its centennial on July 4, 1986, according to the National Park Service. Approximately 3.5 million people visit the statue every year.