Norton Says New Washington Monument Elevator Problem Suggests New Monitoring Necessary by NPS

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said today the second Washington Monument elevator breakdown in two days may show a new chronic problem that must be fixed. After each of the two incidents this week, Norton's office spoke with the National Park Service. As the tourist season began, a breakdown of the same elevator was caused by a power surge, but this week's problem came from a door sensor apparently knocked out of place that prevented the elevator door from closing. Again, visitors were significantly inconvenienced.

"Technology now used in elevators may present new issues beyond mechanical issues of the ‘pre-tech' days," said Norton. "I will be asking NPS to come to my office in September to explain how a door sensor gets knocked out of place, and since it happened twice, what NPS has done to prevent it from happening again. In addition to regular mechanical checks that I assume have been occurring since the power surge at the beginning of the season, I wonder whether the agency regularly looks for potential technology-related issues."