美国国会圆顶1300多条裂缝 50年来最大规模维修在即

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.美国国会圆顶1300多条裂缝，国会山建筑师办公室宣布要在圆顶搭起脚手架，以便进行维修。

综合美国媒体10月22日报道，美国国会大厦建筑师办公室22日宣布要为国会山圆顶搭起脚手架的计划，以便承包商今后修补1300多条裂缝，解决几十年来风吹雨淋造成的侵蚀和漏水等问题。

报道称，承包商将主要在夜间工作，以免打扰国会议员的工作。同时为了帮助承包商以“美感”进行维修，那些脚手架晚上将被照亮，创造一种类似华盛顿纪念碑那样的夜晚视觉效果。华盛顿纪念碑由于2012年地震破坏，曾经被脚手架裹住几个月。

国会大厦圆顶的维修预算将近6000万美元。这也是圆顶自从1959年以来的首次大修，时间可能要持续两年多。

在维修期间，类似面包圈形状的白色天蓬系统将装在圆顶下的大厅里面，以保护国会大厦的访问者。

在这次维修宣布之前，最近一系列民调显示国会在政府关闭16天之后，支持率之低创纪录。一份22日公布的民调结果显示，47%的美国人想把所有的国会议员换掉。