Structural Repairs Closes USS Arizona Memorial "Indefinitely"

Above, the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One of Hawaii's most popular tourist attractions is now closed for structural repairs.

Visitors to Hawaii's Pearl Harbor will be disappointed to learn that the USS Arizona Memorial is closed for repairs "indefinitely".

National Public Radio reported:

The USS Arizona Memorial off Honolulu's coast is closed for repairs. Jay Blount, a spokesman for the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, told Hawaii News Now that the edge where the visitor ramp meets the memorial has fissures on its exterior and the loading ramp is not being properly supported. 

On Friday, an update on the National Park Service Facebook page for the monument said the memorial would remain closed to visitors "for an undetermined period of time while repairs are made." During the repair process, free programs at the USS Arizona Memorial will continue: Visitors can still see a documentary film at the site and receive a harbor tour of Battleship Row, the area where eight U.S. battleships, including the USS Arizona, were moored when the attack on Pearl Harbor began. Other parts of the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center will stay open as well. 

"As Memorial Day approaches, across the nation the National Park Service strives to honor our fallen veterans as well as those who continue to serve," the statement says. "We understand the unfortunate nature of the USS Arizona Memorial closure during this period and ask visitors to understand that their safety is our primary concern." 

The USS Arizona Memorial is an extremely popular site: It receives an average of 4,000 to 5,000 visitors a day. Concerns about its condition began earlier this month: Hawaii News Now reports that on May 6, boat transportation to the memorial was suspended after a vessel operator noticed a crack on its exterior. At that time, engineers began what they thought would be short-term repairs. The memorial was temporarily reopened, but closed within hours because additional cracks appeared. At that point, officials realized that there were more extensive structural issues to handle.

Above, the area of concern is where the ramp meets the memorial. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

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