Why the Springs highway project is loud, late

PG&E crews working on the Springs road improvement project have had to resort to using jackhammers to loosen the compacted soil, angering residents with percussive noise and setting the project back at least two months.

When CalTrans dictated that there would not be re-routing of Highway 12 traffic during the day, construction was limited to nighttime, including well after midnight. The job, First District Supervisor Susan Gorin told The Sun, was to be done by the end of March to make way for phase two.

But PG&E’s plan to use a backhoe to pull up earth and old roadway was foiled by soil so deeply compacted, Gorin said, it was “essentially concrete.” That’s when the jackhammering began – as did the calls of complaint.

“We never anticipated these results, this kind of trauma,” she said. “It’s been onerous for the residents.”

Sonoma County has no noise ordinance.

The use of jackhammers has also slowed the job, which may now push into July and into what was to be phase two of the project. “I’m nervous how this might affect the overall contract timeline,” Gorin said.

Gorin said she has met with officials from CalTrans and PG&E to discuss how to speed up the work and minimize the noise. “It’s not acceptable, “ she said.

For starters, workers will employ “heavy duty construction blankets” to cut down the noise and vibrations. Additionally, crews will try to use the jackhammers earlier in the evening.

There will be two, one-day closures of Highway 12 as all traffic is rerouted around the area. Those dates have not yet been set, Gorin said, but there will advance notice.

When completed, the project will be of huge benefit to the neighborhood. “We all want to see it finished,” Gorin said. “Unfortunately, there’s no good time to have that noise.”

Residents will get a temporary reprieve over Memorial Day weekend: no work will be done May 22-25.