(MENAFN- AFP) The Washington Monument will reopen to the public on May 12, nearly three years after it was shut due to damage from a rare earthquake centered near the US capital.The 170-meter (555-foot) obelisk, a major tourist draw, was shuttered when engineers found more than 150 cracks in the structure in the wake of a 5.8-magnitude quake in Virginia in August 2011.The repair bill totalled $15 million."We are delighted to be in the home stretch with the repairs to the Washington Monument... and we look forward to the re-opening on May 12," National Park Service director Jonathan Jarvis said on Tuesday.The landmark -- erected in honor of George Washington, the first US president, and completed in 1885 -- is located in the middle of the National Mall, between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial.The 2011 quake, which rattled a swathe of the US East Coast, was centered in Louisa County, northwest of Richmond. It also caused significant damage to the National Cathedral in Washington.
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