Diana memorial reopens - again
May 06, 2005
Accidents and blockages forced the fountain to be closed temporarily.
The problem-plagued fountain built in memory of Princess Diana reopens Friday after being closed for four months of repairs.
Visitors were to be allowed through the gates of the London memorial at 10 a.m. to inspect the ring of Cornish granite, once dubbed "a moat without a castle."
In marked contrast to the grand ceremony in July last year in the presence of Queen Elizabeth, Diana's sons Princes William and Harry and Diana's brother Earl Spencer, this opening will be extremely low-key.
Workers were dependent on a bout of good weather over the last few days to ensure that the fountain was finished on time.
"The path needed four hours of dry weather to dry. If we had had howling wind and rain over the last 48 hours, it could have been a problem," the spokesman said.
In the 10 months since it was unveiled by the queen, the monument, which was not completed until seven years after Diana's death, has been beset with problems.
The beleaguered £3.6 million ($6.6 million) fountain, designed by American architect Kathryn Gustafson, was blocked by fallen leaves the day after it opened, suffered a broken pump, and had to be closed two weeks later when tourists slipped over while paddling.
Health and safety experts were called in, and the fountain in London's Hyde Park was switched off and its stone surfaces roughened to improve the grip.
In August it was reopened and new rules were introduced, including banning people from walking in the ring of flowing water.
The memorial was closed again in January this year and new repairs ordered when the area around the fountain turned into a mud-bath.
The new additions -- estimated to have cost up to £300,000 ($572,000) -- include a robust, hard-wearing rye grass turf, normally used on sports pitches, to replace existing waterlogged grass.
The grey-green resin-bonded path has also been lengthened by about 250 meters (yards), drainage at the site enhanced, and metal bars placed underneath the bridges to prevent debris getting trapped.
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