KEYSTONE, SD (KELO-AM) A special preservation team has been installing fiber optic cables on Mount Rushmore, to keep a high-tech eye on the health of the famous faces.
Roped members of the team have been hanging from the world renowned sculpture in South Dakota's Black Hills, replacing copper wires with the updated fiber optics. The new monitoring system will give instantaneous information to computers on potential cracks and stresses. The old copper wire monitoring system was glacial by comparison.
The Mount Rushmore Preservation Team is composed of a wide variety of specialists from across National Park Service divisions. The rope access technicians are trained to use a duel rope system, where each tech is attached to a working line and a safety, backup line at all times.
It's been years since members of the public have been allowed to walk on Mount Rushmore, so all these technicians wandering over the giant monument has been a curious sight for the thousands of daily visitors..
