美國國會圓頂1300多條裂縫 50年來最大規模維修在即

Americans want to overhaul Congress, but they may have to settle for a facelift of the Capitol dome.

The Architect of the Capitol, an office that oversees Most of Congress' physical facilities, on Tuesday announced plans to shroud the dome in scaffolding for two years so contractors can repair 1,300 cracks, address years of corrosion and plug leaks.

The contractors will do the work mostly at night, to avoid disrupting lawmakers, who were recently busy shutting down the government.

To help the contractors and to conduct the renovations in an "aesthetically pleasing manner," the scaffolding will be illuminated at night.

That will create a visual effect is similar to the nighttime look of the Washington Monument, which has been covered in scaffolding for months to fix damage from a 2012 earthquake.

The Capitol dome repairs have a budget of just under $60 million. They mark the first major repairs to the dome - a celebrated symbol of the egovernment - since 1959.

During the work, "a white canopy system in the shape of a donut" will be placed inside the hall under the dome to protect visitors.

If other recent projects in the Capitol are any guide, it will last longer than the two years projected by the Architect of the Capitol.

The renovations come amid a slew of polls showing record low approval ratings for Congress in the wake of the 16-day shutdown this month.

A USA TODAY-Princeton Survey Research poll released Tuesday found that 47% of Americans would like every seat in Congress to change hands.美國國會圓頂1300多條裂縫，國會山建築師辦公室宣佈要在圓頂搭起腳手架，以便進行維修。

綜合美國媒體10月22日報道，美國國會大廈建築師辦公室22日宣佈要爲國會山圓頂搭起腳手架的計劃，以便承包商今後修補1300多條裂縫，解決幾十年來風吹雨淋造成的侵蝕和漏水等問題。

報道稱，承包商將主要在夜間工作，以免打擾國會議員的工作。同時爲了幫助承包商以“美感”進行維修，那些腳手架晚上將被照亮，創造一種類似華盛頓紀念碑那樣的夜晚視覺效果。華盛頓紀念碑由於2012年地震破壞，曾經被腳手架裹住幾個月。

國會大廈圓頂的維修預算將近6000萬美元。這也是圓頂自從1959年以來的首次大修，時間可能要持續兩年多。

在維修期間，類似麪包圈形狀的白色天蓬系統將裝在圓頂下的大廳裏面，以保護國會大廈的訪問者。

在這次維修宣佈之前，最近一系列民調顯示國會在政府關閉16天之後，支持率之低創紀錄。一份22日公佈的民調結果顯示，47%的美國人想把所有的國會議員換掉。