Surveyors Checking the Height of the Washington Monument

Surveyors are checking to make sure the Washington Monument is still 555 feet, 5 and one-eighth inches tall.

The survey is being conducted by the National Geodetic Survey and is the first of its kind since 1999. Surveyors can only access the peak of the monument to check the height when it's covered in scaffolding. The monument is undergoing repairs after it was damaged during a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in August 2011.

A survey conducted last year at the base of the monument found that it had not sunk any further into the ground after the earthquake.

The goal of the survey is to establish a definitive height that can be used as a reference point in the future. Surveyors will discuss their work at a news conference this afternoon.

[Associated Press]