This is from Twitter feed of a White House reporter:
“A White House official got back to me about my question yesterday during the daily briefing on the construction on the White House South Lawn. The project, the official said, is intended to update the WH communications and power system. So it has relevance to the press corps.
The WH official said the system hasn’t been updated for decades & the project to renew it had actually started in 2020 during the Trump administration. The project is being done in coordination w/ USSS, the Park Service & the White House Communications Agency, the official said.
The renewal project, the WH official said, is about to enter a new phase with work on the northern end of the South Lawn, which will take about 10 weeks. At the end of 10 weeks, Marine One will once again be able to lift off the South Lawn, the official said.
Summer 2022 is the expected date for completion of the renewal project in its entirety, the WH official said. So that would explain the apparatus cluttering the South Lawn that can be seen by the Rose Garden.”
https://twitter.com/chrisjohnson82/status/1380637002224254976
My understanding is, even if there is enough room to land Marine One on the South Lawn, the turbulence from the rotors can cause construction materials to go airborne and be a threat to people.
How convenient that construction on the south lawn of the White House will require Biden to go by “The Beast” directly to the helicopter on the Ellipse instead of walking across the lawn. He will just not be able to interact with any reporters on his way nor will we clearly see him getting onto the helicopter.