Statue of Liberty's crown to reopen this weekend

The 30-million-U.S.-dollar project provided upgrades to fire alarms, sprinkler systems and strobes, and enhanced the public address systems to improve the visitor's safety and protection of the monument, the National Park Service said. The visitor's comfort is also improved by the new systems, which moderate the effect of scorching summer days, when temperatures inside the Statue can be some 20 degrees hotter than outside, according to Xinhua.

According to the National Park Service, for the first time in history, visitors with mobility impairments will now be able to access the observation level at the top of the pedestal and see the Eiffel structure inside the Statue. Until this work was completed, people with mobility impairments could only access the top of the fort at the base of the Statue.

The Statue is visited by around 3.5 million people each year, and the improvements allow an additional 26,000 visitors each year to visit the crown and many more will be able to experience the monument.

The Statue of Liberty, dedicated on Oct. 28, 1886, was a gift of friendship from the French people to the U.S. people. It was designated as a National Monument in 1924. In 2009, the crown was reopened to the public for the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.