Governor-elect Tom Wolf joked frequently on the campaign trail that he started his career in the Wolf family cabinet-making company in a warehouse, driving a forklift. So maybe he’ll feel at home outside the Capitol complex on inauguration day in less than two weeks.
The Democrat will take his oath of office in a construction zone.
The Capitol complex is in the midst of a years-long project to make roof and lighting replacements, as well as fountain repairs.
State Department of General Services spokesman Troy Thompson said work would stop on Jan. 20, and the construction shouldn’t be too obvious to guests attending the inauguration.
“It is a construction zone, so there may be certain items in view, but we don’t anticipate them being significant,” Thompson said.
The construction project began last summer and isn’t expected to be finished until 2016. Thompson says his agency knew it was likely to interfere in someone’s inauguration, but the upgrades were too important to postpone.
“These are projects that needed to be done,” Thompson said. “They were put off for way too long. The chance for further deterioration of these structures was just too important not to address as soon as possible.”
