Fencing is being reinstalled around the U.S. Capitol ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday and possible protests by trucker convoys that could arrive in D.C. by later this week.

In a statement Sunday, U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said the fencing — which first went up after the Jan. 6 insurrection, and stayed up for six months — would be erected again “out of an abundance of caution” and to “prevent any disruption to the important work of Congress.” The fencing was briefly reinstalled in September, ahead of a protest by right-wing supporters of people held in the D.C. Jail for allegedly participating in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The main trucker convoy coming to D.C. — known as the People’s Convoy — started in California last week and passed through Oklahoma on Sunday, with hopes of reaching D.C. by the weekend to protest vaccine and other pandemic-related mandates. Organizers have said they do not plan to enter the city, though, and instead stop at the Beltway.

Other convoys of varying sizes have also been reported, but some have already pulled the plug because of low participation. One convoy organized last week arrived on the Beltway with a single truck and a few support vehicles, blending into usual weekday traffic rather than causing any of it.

Many of the demands the truckers are making — including an end to vaccine mandates — are mostly moot now. New CDC guidelines now ease indoor mask recommendations for most of the country. And here in our region, many requirements have been dropped.  The District, the only locality that imposed a vaccine mandate for businesses, lifted it in mid-February. The city’s indoor mask mandate will be lifted on Tuesday. The mask mandate in Prince George’s County lifted today, and last week Maryland broadly lifted the mask mandate for schools, leaving the decision on whether to retain a mandate up to school boards.

The reinstallation of the fencing around the Capitol could again be a nuisance to many D.C. residents, who complained for months after Jan. 6 that the fences blocked usual commuting routes and kept people from using the open spaces of the Capitol grounds as many are used to. In a statement, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton — who has introduced legislation to block any permanent fencing from being installed — said she hopes this round of fencing comes down quickly.

“I understand the security concerns related to the trucker convoy and the State of the Union address that led to the fencing being temporarily reinstalled around the Capitol,” she said. “However, I will ensure that the fencing comes down as soon as possible to restore freedom of movement for District of Columbia residents and the general public.”

Other security precautions being taken ahead of any trucker convoy protests include the staging of dump trucks and Metrobuses to block city streets if necessary.