Mount Rushmore Memorial to begin major construction project

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - One of the country's most popular tourist attractions is getting to the core of a multi-million dollar upgrade.

The Rapid City Journal reports that major construction projects at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota are scheduled to begin next week. The National Park Service says work will continue through much of 2020.

Mount Rushmore spokeswoman Maureen McGee-Ballinger says the upgrades are designed to make it easier to traverse the park and provide clearer views of Gutzon Borglum's sculpture, which features the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.

Many parts of the park will be closed during construction, including a visitor's center and amphitheater. McGee-Ballinger says visitors will still have good views of the sculpture and the finished product is "going to be beautiful."