The two and a half mile distance between the U.S. Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial is normally the biggest challenge for visitors to the National Mall.
But over the past few weeks, several new obstacles have been erected in their path.
Detours are everywhere. The National Park Service has closed streets and fenced off areas around the Lincoln Memorial, the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument grounds, in some cases to support events such as the FIFA Fan Zone, the Great American State Fair and the July Fourth fireworks.
In some cases, the fences don’t just block the way 鈥� they block the view.
On Friday, crews began draining the Reflecting Pool once again for President Donald Trump鈥檚 latest round of repairs. Crews also started covering the chain link fencing around the pool with black material to block views while the work continues.
This new addition disappointed some visitors.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not very welcoming,鈥� Liz, a tourist from Iowa, told 麻豆官网. 鈥淚t makes me feel like we are in a construction zone, or somebody’s done something very bad.鈥�
鈥淵ou know, this is such a beautiful place and such a wonderful thing, and have to wall it off because of some bad element. It’s just sad,鈥� Ed Cook, who was visiting from Nevada, said.
Donna Gottschall thought the fence surrounding the Reflecting Pool was sad for a different reason.
The Mississippi resident said of the Reflecting Pool saga, 鈥淚 mean, the whole story of what’s going on with it, I think, is disappointing, and it’s quite frankly a waste of money.鈥�
By the Lincoln Memorial, getting their last views through the chain link fence before crews put up the black fabric, were Joe and John, who said their trip has been challenging because of the detours on and off the Mall.
John said getting around by car has also been a mess because rideshare and taxi drivers don’t know which roads are closed, so they keep getting stuck in traffic. One taxi they hailed ran into a blockade, causing a major delay that ruined their plans.
While many tourists seemed disappointed by the detours, Cook and his wife Charo were all smiles. When the two arrived a couple of days ago, they didn鈥檛 try to work themselves around the maze that is currently the National Mall. Instead, they toured the Nation鈥檚 Capital in style.
鈥淲e took the Big Bus, so we got the lay of the land first,” Cook said. 鈥淵esterday, we knew it was raining, so we went to Dulles and went out to the incredible Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum.鈥�
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