The National Park Service held a groundbreaking and Hawaiian blessing ceremony today to mark the start of construction on a $58 million Pearl Harbor Museum and Visitor Center.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye delivered the keynote address.

When completed in about two years, the new complex will replace the current USS Arizona Memorial Visitor shore facility.

The current visitor center, which was built in 1980, is failing and the new center will better accommodate the 1.5 million visitors who visit the site each year, National Park Service officials said.

The new center will also feature a greatly expanded museum and comprehensive interpretation of the attack on Pearl Harbor and other World War II events.

The new visitor center will be built in phases over the next two years enabling the center and tours of the USS Arizona Memorial Center to remain open. Construction is scheduled to begin within the next few months and be completed by December 2010.

To view renderings of the new center, visit www.pearlharbormemorial.com.