Central 70 Construction Noise Could Continue To Exceed Limits At Night

DENVER (CBS4) -- People living along the Central 70 Project will have a chance to say whether they want to continue to deal with noise overnight to get the job done sooner, or less noise and a longer construction timeline. There is a community meeting Thursday night.

The main contractor of the Central 70 project, which will reconstruct the interstate between Brighton Blvd and Chambers Road, has asked the city to extend its authorization to exceed nighttime noise limits over the next few years.

Last fall, the Denver Board of Public Health and Environment approved a renewable one year variance for overnight work to Kiewit Infrastructure. The idea was to allow time to see how the construction noise would end up effecting residents who live along the construction site.

Now, with the hope of extending that variance for a few more years, a meeting with neighbors in the Elyria-Swansea area will be held to discuss the matter. Kiewit will inform residents about their plans to mitigate and manage overnight construction noise, while neighbors will share their experiences with the work so far. The board, will ultimately make the final decision.

Most neighbors CBS4 spoke to, said the noise hasn't been overbearing.

"The project has its moments but it's not really the noise that's a problem, it's the traffic," said Patrick Williams, who has lived in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood for 12 years.

Williams' home is just doors down from the I-70 construction. He said he was aware of the meeting about extending overnight work.

"It depends on how loud the noise is going to be and what they're going to do at night to wake you up," he explained. "If you've got to get up at 4:30 and they're pounding concrete and making enough noise you can't sleep, what are you going to do?"

The City of Denver's Department of Health and Environment said over the past year, they have not had any substantial complaints related to noise. They have gone to the Elryia-Swansea neighborhood to investigate concerns, and want to ensure people come to this meeting to voice their experiences when it comes to noise.

"They are our ears on the ground. They might be aware of things were not aware of, that the board might not be aware of because they are not there all the time," explained Ann Cecchine-Williams with the Department of Public Health and Environment. "So getting their feedback, impressions and concerns is really, really important to us."

The community meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday Aug. 8, at the Swansea Recreation Center.