Alexandra Lions Club members were responsible for upgrading the lookout.
An official opening was held yesterday, at which project manager Barry McCall said he felt there was not enough emphasis on the lookout as a tourist attraction.
There was already a stone lookout area and rails, but no vehicle access or wheelchair access and no sign from the township, so tourists were unaware of it.
Vehicle access, wheelchair access, signs and a car park had all been added, as well as panels with landscape photos and text that identified some of the town’s landmarks. Mr McCall said he had asked the Central Otago District Council to add the lookout to its tourist map.
The upgrade took about six months to complete, he said.
The cost of the upgrade would have been more than $15,000 if Lions had had to pay for all of it.
They raised $2000 from a 4WD rally to Leaning Rock earlier this year, and $2000 was donated from the Alexandra Summer Markets.
Extra work was done by Otago Polytechnic students from Cromwell, Samuel Fencing and volunteers.
Central Otago Mayor Tim Cadogan said the lookout upgrade made the space "more of an icon than ever before".
"We live in an Instagram age and people will stop to take their photo here."
It was completed on December 20, but because of timing and availability, the official opening could not be held until February.
The lookout project was completed in 2017 to commemorate 100 years of Lions International, and 50 years of Lions in Alexandra.
Alexandra Lions Club president Donald Lamont said the next project in the area was to upgrade the lights in the numbers on the town clock. The lights in the numerals had not been upgraded since the clock was installed. He hoped this would be completed by the end of the year.
