Jessica Terr just wants a good night’s sleep.

Some residents are concerned about noise during nighttime work hours for the preliminary subway construction. (photo by Jonathan Van Dyke)

A resident in the neighborhood behind the 99 Cents Only Store near the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, Terr said she’s been working with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) for months to mitigate the nighttime noise coming from advanced utility relocations (AUR) work, the first phase of construction for the Purple Line Extension Project.

“I’ve lived here for at least 12 years and there is lots of noise around here, but I’ve never had my sleep disrupted like this,” she said.

In regards to the impact of construction vibration, Terr said, “you can come sit on my couch.” She said that her neighbors have children and dogs who have also been adversely affected.

AUR work has been taking place since May of last year, but it has been more noticeable in recent months, residents said. The work is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. to avoid peak traffic hours. So far, Metro officials said, construction has been going according to plan.

“I think we’re doing very well,” said Kasey Shuda, manager of construction relations for the Purple Line Extension Project. “We, so far, have been in compliance with all Los Angeles Police Commission rules regarding nighttime noise.”

For this project, construction crews are allowed to exceed normal ambient-level noise at night by five decibels. Prior to construction, Metro hired an engineering firm to identify sensitive sound receptors in the area and create the baseline ambient noise guidelines.

While construction is ongoing, sound monitors measure the noise for 15-minute durations. During each 15-minute period, noise is allowed to exceed the limits. However, noise is out of compliance if the average sound decibels recorded over the entire 15 minutes exceed the standards.

The 15-minute rule is exasperating to Terr, who has recorded videos to demonstrate the noises she and her fellow residents hear throughout the night.

“For months, we had been experiencing this very loud drilling, screeching and crashing noise throughout the night,” she said, noting she would go outside and stand next to the sound monitor and make a record of the sounds when they were above and below the accepted level.

In that case, Terr said Metro officials told her that the construction workers were occasionally hitting unexpected layers of concrete that caused the louder noises and they worked to mitigate the problem. Throughout the process, Terr said, Metro has been responsive to her.

“I do really appreciate that [they have] been trying to help us identify specific construction terms and activities and that they are trying to mitigate them,” she added.

Shuda said night work is necessary to alleviate traffic congestion during the day, and it is also necessary due to certain construction safety issues. She admitted that Metro is still working with the contractors and subcontractors to make sure all vehicles are using low-impact back-up alarms for which Metro will pay. A letter was issued to the contractors telling them vehicles would be turned away without the proper alarms. Metro officials are also trying to make sure sound blankets and sound walls are being properly used, and used more vigilantly.

“We’ve been trying to go above and beyond and we are trying to mitigate any noise at all,” Shuda said.

Recently, the Miracle Mile Residential Association (MMRA) entered the conversation, requesting that Metro end night work, or at least figure out how to perform that majority of the work during the day, even during peak traffic hours.

“Obviously it’s a very huge, complex project with a million different parts,” MMRA board vice president Ken Hixon said. “But at no point was anybody thinking about the impacts on the residents. Metro has responded and the noisiest parts they now try to do before 11 p.m. The end result, though, still is that it is costing people sleep.”

There are lane restrictions via the Los Angeles Department of Transportation governing construction during peak hours, which Metro officials said they could not comply with at this point during the construction. In 2016, when major subway work begins, there will be peak hours construction. Metro will be able to meet the lane requirements because that part of the project will demolish medians and widen the road.

Residents argued that Metro could move up the removal of medians and other construction, which would allow the opening of traffic lanes for construction right now.

“That’s a huge scheduling issue,” Shuda said, adding that the future work is with a different contractor. “Right now, it’s programmed when major construction starts. There is a lot of work and cost involved going into changing that.”

Residents also pointed to the city of Beverly Hills, which is currently only allowing AUR construction to take place between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. That will not be the case for much longer, Shuda said, because Metro officials are working with Beverly Hills officials to allow for night work.

“There definitely will be night work in Beverly Hills,” she said. “We can’t complete the job on time without it.”

Local businesses are also feeling the construction squeeze, but in a different way, said Meg McComb, executive director of the Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce.

“As a business, the noise doesn’t affect me quite as much as the traffic does,” she said. “Can customers get to me? Can they drive down Wilshire? Can they park anywhere near my store? And once they get in my store, then the noise is not as much of an issue. I think the problem is traffic and parking.”

Terr said it has been enlightening to be such an active community member on the issue. When the work began last May, she wondered if she would have to move — and she still hasn’t ruled that out — but currently she is optimistic about changes to the noise in the future.

“[Metro has] moved a great deal of the noisier construction,” she added.

Hixon said it was worth bringing the issue to the forefront now because this is just the beginning of what promises to be much louder subway construction.

“Right now, we will continue to try and be reasonable, rational and constructive,” he said. “The utility relocation is just a preview of coming attractions.”