The Capitol Visitor Center has been open for less than five months, but the Capitol’s East Front has already reverted to a construction site.

[IMGCAP(1)]The reason: sod and paver replacement, two jobs left unfinished when the underground building opened on Dec. 2.

The pavers — or concrete tiles — were once a constant subject of the CVC’s oversight hearings, since many were cracked during the building’s construction.

At the time, CVC officials assured lawmakers that replacing them wouldn’t mean running over the $621 million construction budget.

Now the contractor is replacing the pavers “in phases to minimize disruption to plaza activities and visitor access to the visitor center entrances,— CVC spokesman Tom Fontana said. “This work will continue through the spring.—

The construction has overlapped with the CVC’s busiest season yet. During the Cherry Blossom Festival, about 187,000 visitors came through the CVC, averaging about 15,500 visitors a day.

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