Construction noise plagues Stouffer residents

As construction keeps students awake all night, administrators in Stouffer College House suggest they buy earplugs.

In November, Philadelphia Gas Works began an estimated 21-week project to build a new natural gas pipeline near Penn’s campus.

Construction takes place between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. “to minimize disruption as best we can,” said PGW spokesman Cameron Kline in a previous interview.

This semester, work on the gas main moved closer to the intersection of 38th and Spruce, where the nighttime work has been “loud and disruptive,” particularly for students living in Stouffer College House, said Martin Redman, executive director of College Houses and Academic Services.

“We’ve been trying to engage with the gas company to see if there’s any way we can adjust the schedule,” he said.

In the meantime, administrators have worked to find “temporary options,” for students, Redman added, who makes certain there are always earplugs available.

The Stouffer College House website maintains a page with updates on the construction.

In addition, the website includes a list of suggestions for students who are “suffering from the adverse affects of disrupted sleep.”

Some of those suggestions include using noise-cancelling earphones, swapping rooms with a friend, sleeping on the floor of a friend’s room, and purchasing an apparatus that makes white noise, such as a humidifier.

“There is no [humidifier] on the planet that makes enough noise” to cover up the noise of the construction, College sophomore Brittany Young said.

Young lives in Stouffer Hall, and says the noise of construction throughout the night is “unbearable.” Young is often “exhausted and sleep-deprived” as a result, she said.

According to Young, when she spoke to her College House about the issue, they told her that PGW had complete control over the project. However, when she spoke to PGW, they told her the University chose the schedule. “I don’t feel like justice is being done,” Young said.

“My academic performance will be affected if it hasn’t been already,” Young added. “I am really stressed a lot and I definitely attribute that to the noise.”

Although some students have suggested that the construction take place over the summer, it is not an option, according to Redman since construction must be completed in 180 days according to the stipulations of the Troubled Asset Relief Program grant which funded the project.

College sophomore Mike Kramer lives in Mayer Hall, on the side further from the building. The noise “hasn’t been too bad,” for him, but it could be worse for students on the side closer to the construction, Kramer said.

“The only (sort of) good news we’ve been given is that PGW is ahead of schedule, so it is unlikely it will take all semester to complete the work, as was once projected, ” Stouffer College House Dean Alison Want wrote in an e-mail to Stouffer College House on Feb 2.

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