‘Unbearably loud’ construction noise keeping downtown Halifax residents up at night

Noisy overnight construction on a busy downtown Halifax street will continue to interrupt nearby residents’ sleeping schedules for another week.

“This noise has been unbearably loud,” said Sean Ross, a resident of the area. “It’s impossible to sleep during.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This noise has been unbearably loud," said Sean Ross, a resident of the area. "It's impossible to sleep during."

He recorded videos of the construction, including one showing excavation work being done by a construction vehicle at 1:47 a.m. on Oct. 24. He said the construction is loud generally between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m., Sunday night to Thursday morning.

“You can close your windows and turn up something really loudly, and you’re still going to hear it,” said Ross.

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The construction, which started at the end of August, is happening on Barrington Street between Duke Street and Spring Garden Road as part of a “refresh,” according to the municipal government.

The promise is of significant improvements to the quality and aesthetic of the street, including new pavement, sidewalks, and upgraded streetlights.

“This type of work really can’t be undertaken in the daytime hours,” said Tiffany Chase, a spokesperson for the government. “We have many businesses along this section of street that would be greatly impacted if we had lane drops or street closures during the day.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This type of work really can't be undertaken in the daytime hours," said Tiffany Chase, a spokesperson for the government. "We have many businesses along this section of street that would be greatly impacted if we had lane drops or street closures during the day."

She also said maintaining traffic flow is a top concern; roughly 15,000 vehicles, including buses, use that stretch of the street every weekday.

READ MORE: ‘It’s a necessary evil’: surviving the HRM construction season

Barrington Street is one of 30 streets in the municipality with work restrictions; in Barrington Street’s case, construction can only be done on evenings and weekends.

According to Chase, the local business commission and local property owners were consulted while the project was in the planning stage.

“It was agreed that we would rather have short-term pain for long-term gain in terms of this project. If we were to undertake daytime lane drops in order to accommodate some of this work, it would have significantly lengthened the project timeline,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It was agreed that we would rather have short-term pain for long-term gain in terms of this project. If we were to undertake daytime lane drops in order to accommodate some of this work, it would have significantly lengthened the project timeline," she said.

READ MORE: Building construction hurts downtown Halifax businesses’ bottom lines

Ross said that, having lived in downtown Halifax for about six years, he’s used to noise, including construction (during the daytime), “dozens of drunks yelling outside your window,” street cleaning vehicles, and the like.

“I’m so tired by the time that I wake up to go to work that, by the end of the week of only getting a couple of hours of sleep per night, I’m basically a useless zombie,” said Ross, adding that it’s affecting his studies (he’s a part-time student) and workout schedule.

The project is expected to wrap up next week, according to Chase.