Safety concerns prompt 2-year closure of Cape Lookout Lighthouse

The National Park Service has closed the Cape Lookout Lighthouse on the North Carolina coast for two years because of structural problems that could create a safety hazard, officials said Friday.

During a safety inspection in February, engineers discovered serious problems with the cast-iron flooring and rails on the gallery, separations between the iron stairs and masonry, cracks in the iron landing plates and separation from the iron stairs and the central support, officials said.

A major renovation on the 163-foot-tall lighthouse is scheduled for the fall to address those problems and many other needed repairs, officials said. The project is expected to last two years, and no date for reopening has been set.

The Cape Lookout Lighthouse Keepers Quarters Museum, located near the base of the lighthouse, will remain open to visitors.

The lighthouse was built between 1857 and 1859 and has undergone numerous repairs and upgrades over the years, with the last coming in 2010.