Residents kept awake at 3am by steel pile driving
ANGER AND DISBELIEF AT NIGHTTIME DISRUPTION
THERE has been a mixture of anger and bemusement after a loud noise kept people awake in the city centre and east Hull.
Residents reported hearing a very loud noise that some thought may have been a helicopter, but it seems it was actually due to drilling.
There has been speculation whether it was flood alleviation works on the River Hull or Highways England’s A63 upgrade in Castle Street.
What is not in doubt though is that a large number of people got very little sleep.
One resident said: “I and rest of the city centre residents were ‘kindly’ awoken last night with what seems to have been pilings being drilled near Myton bridge, using a 20ft-plus drill that can clearly be seen near said bridge.
“The noise was deafening and ran intermittently from 2.30am to 5am.”
Another resident could not understand why such works were allowed to take place at that time.
He said: “Who approved this in Hull at Myton Bridge from 1am this morning onwards? Surely it should be done in the daytime.”
On Twitter, Tony Warriner said: “Hundreds of people living around Myton Bridge woken by steel pile driving at 3am.
“Now the site is deserted, even though the court they claim they don’t want to disrupt (more important than residents) is closed. Outrageous.”
Another resident couldn’t understand what was happening.
She said: “What’s the strange noise over east Hull going on and off since 3am? Sometimes it lasts longer than other times and definitely isn’t a helicopter.”
Radio Humberside reported that Highways England was carrying out test drilling on a car park near Myton Bridge and that no more nighttime tests would take place.
A spokesman for Highways England said: “Upgrading the A63 is a complex operation and we are working hard to minimise disruption.
“Last night at Castle Street we were doing sheet piling work to improve the High Street underpass gradient.
“As this work is close to the courts, with hearings are in session during the daytime, we have to ensure we not disturb ongoing court sessions.
“Therefore, we sought approval from Hull City Council to do this work at night, which was agreed.
“We aim to complete noisier work early in the shift if we can and forewarned people that we would be carrying out work at this time.
“We appreciate that living near a construction site is not easy and we are grateful for people’s patience while we complete this vital upgrade for the A63.
“We will continue to listen to feedback from road users and those affected by our works to find further improvements in how we manage work as the scheme progresses.”