Denver Board Grants Noise Variance For Central 70 Project
DENVER (CBS4) - The main contractor on the Central 70 project scored a partial win overnight. A ruling by Denver's local board of health means there will be more noise for neighbors next to the interstate in the northeastern part of the city than they had hoped.
Kiewit Meridiam Partners, the construction company overseeing the Interstate 70 expansion plan, recently asked Denver's Board of Public Health and Environment for a noise variance that would allow for nighttime work, particularly for bridge construction. In order to meet deadlines and to complete the massive project, they say they'll need to work overnight.
After a meeting that started Thursday evening and wound up lasting 7 hours, the board partially granted the variance.
The contractor asked for the variance to cover a period of 52 months. The board only granted it for 12 months.
Residents of neighborhoods like Elyria-Swansea say nighttime construction noise will have a negative impact on their lives.
"It's going to disrupt people's sleep patterns and the way people generally live their lives," said neighbor Dave Ortega.
Some say it's already hard to sleep because of the interstate noise at night, and others say they're willing to grin and bear the loud sounds until the project is completed.
"Sometimes it's hard to sleep, but at the end it's going to end up being really pretty and (will lead to) more attraction to our environment," said Kimberly Perez.
The contractor says it will try to limit the noise as much as possible. They say they'll place sound barriers and will monitor the noise levels. They are also offering some hotel vouchers to residents who want to get some sleep and feel the noise is overwhelming.
