Statue of Liberty to reopen this summer

New York’s Statue of Liberty, closed immediately after the September 11 terrorist attacks, will reopen to the public this summer.

Construction is still needed to complete the upgrades to fire and emergency notification systems, but the statue will reopen in four months.

An overall examination of the US national monument revealed potential for fire problems and a lack of exits.

Screening procedures, much like those at airports, and a reservation system to reduce long queues will be implemented once the monument reopens.

When the upgrades are completed, the public will be allowed to climb the 354 steps to the statue’s crown, or observation deck.

The 151ft-high statue sits on a 58-acre island in New York Harbour.

The island was reopened in December 2001 after airport-type metal detectors were installed to screen visitors boarding the ferry from lower Manhattan.

But the statue itself has remained closed since the terror attacks in 2001.