Edwin O'Dea is sick of the noise and nausea caused by works to complete the Bay Link construction.
A Mount Maunganui man says he has spent the past nine months sleeping on his friend's couch because of late-night construction work at the Baypark to Bayfair (B2B) project.
Edwin O'Dea lives on Eversham Rd near where the work is being carried out and says the noise and vibrations fromovernight works on the project, also known as Bay Link, are impossible to sleep through.
"It is literally like an earthquake every single night from 8pm to 5am. The vibrating noise isn't actually the machine it is the bones of the house vibrating," Edwin O'Dea said.
"All the fixtures just shake making all our glasses fall out of the shelves. We wake up in the morning to everything lying on the ground."
Baylink Road works from Eversham Rd. Photo / Andrew Warner
O'Dea said he has had countless communications with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, which told him the stone column drilling (believed to be the activity responsible) complied with the agency's regulations.
O'Dea said the regulations did not help with nausea he got from the vibrations as he tried to sleep through the night.
"I totally understand they have a job to do, we are happy with normal road work noise. They have to build a road, so we know it will be noisy but it is actually unlivable.
"But I just want them to spend a night in our house so they can find out it is unlivable there."
Eversham Rd is close enough to feel the effects of the stone column drilling at the Bay Link project. Image / Google
Michael Parry lives right on the boundary of the construction site and has done for 30 years.
But unlike O'Dea, the vibrations do not concern him.
The lasers on the corner of Michael Parry's home. Photo / Andrew Warner
"It's gotta be done and there is nothing we can do about it really."
On the side of his house are two small laser lights which indicate whether his house has sunk deeper into the ground due to all of the work - it hasn't so far.
"They're trying to look after us and cover their bases," he said.
Other residents the Bay of Plenty Times spoke to said the vibrating was an issue for the whole neighbourhood and one they were looking forward to seeing the back of.
Agency project delivery senior manager Andrew Thackwray said the stone column and ground improvement work had been carried out as the first stage of the two flyovers.
"The majority of the stone column work at the Baypark end of the project for the Te Maunga flyover is now complete."
The next stage was to construct the retaining walls, which are currently under way, he said.
The Bay Link Project is still over a year from completion. Photo /George Novak
Contractors are permitted to work at night as per the conditions set out in the resource consent and night works take place when the construction "severely" impacts the daytime traffic flow, he said.
"For night works additional methods are used to minimise the impact of noise and vibration by using noise mats around the engines where possible, fitting a muffler to the rig, installing the stone columns and scheduling noisier work to be completed during the day," Thackwray said.
The Bay Link project is worth at least $120 million and is expected to significantly alleviate some of Mount Maunganui's traffic congestion.
