Interchange ruckus riles residents
Wake-up call: ‘It’s all night because they don’t want to hold up traffic in the day’
McKenzie interchange construction, which has the go-ahead to proceed 24 hours a day until the end of July, is causing sleepless nights for nearby residents.
Rob Wickson, president of the Gorge Tillicum Neighbourhood Association, said residents are being woken or kept awake by noise from equipment shifting soil and rocks, and emitting highpitched beeps.
“It’s all night because they don’t want to hold up traffic in the day,” Wickson said.
“We’re just being run over, absolutely run over, by whoever wants to get this project done.”
He said the province has given priority to “car drivers from somewhere else,” referring to commuters, while residents closest to the construction at Admirals Road are bearing the brunt of night-time noise and other upheavals.
“I think everybody in our neighbourhood would prefer them to work during the day, but we have no say whatsoever,” Wickson said, noting that trees that might have muffled the noise have been removed from Cuthbert Holmes park to make way for the quarter clover leaf design.
The interchange is intended to reduce motor-vehicle congestion and save time for drivers. The night-time work involves clearing and placing materials in the area near the Galloping Goose trail.
Leanne Flood, a spokeswoman for the B.C. Transportation Ministry, said night work has been happening periodically throughout the site since construction began in September. “Night-time construction has been allowed by the ministry in order to keep traffic — including cyclists and pedestrians on the Galloping Goose trail — flowing during peak periods,” Flood said in an email.
The ministry opted not to close a lane of the Trans-Canada Highway for daytime work “in response to the concerns we heard about traffic delays during construction from early on in our engagement in this project,” she said.
“As such, the ministry will not allow lane closures for construction on Sundays, statutory holidays, or during the hours of 5:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday.”
In a letter to the editor last week, West Burnside homeowner Debbie Newman said she is “tired of being tired” for her day job and recalled a recent night: “From 3 to 5 a.m., I lay in bed helplessly while they blasted and banged away, until my alarm went off at 6 a.m. to get me up for work.”
Flood said the ministry understands that the construction project can be noisy and can be an inconvenience.
“On the McKenzie interchange project, we are committed to minimizing noise as much as possible for nearby schools and residences, and have placed restrictions on the timing of certain activities like drilling and blasting which can be the noisiest.”
Rock blasting, which began Nov. 18, is not allowed after 10 p.m. and drilling is allowed only from 3 to 9 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays, she said.
“We do understand that some noise can be disruptive and that is why we encourage the public to contact us when they have questions, concerns, or want to complain about noise or other issues.”
People bothered by noise are asked to call 250-387-8700 or email mckenzieinterchange@gov.bc.ca, or contact the construction contractor, Jacob Bros., at 250-480-9696.