PGW construction noise may continue through April

Loud jackhammers may continue to keep students awake at night until the end of April.

In November, Philadelphia Gas Works began construction on a new natural gas pipeline stretching from University Avenue and Civic Center Boulevard to 38th and Chestnut streets.

Construction takes place between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. Monday through Thursday and has been disruptive for some students. Since January, construction moved closer to the intersection of 38th and Spruce streets, said Martin Redman, executive director of College Houses and Academic Services.

Many students and parents have complained that the noise keeps students in Stouffer College House and Fisher-Hassenfeld College House awake at night, Redman said.

Redman believes as construction moves further north, the noise will be more bearable. However, “I’m not anticipating a change” to the construction schedule, he added.

According to Redman, the University has been in talks with PGW, but there is no easy solution to the problem “on either side of the issue.”

“In a city with the kind of variety and diversity [of buildings] just on 38th street, I’m not sure you can ever please everyone,” Redman said, adding that daytime construction would disrupt classes and businesses nearby.

The nighttime schedule was made according to what PGW, the University, and other stakeholders thought “would be the least disruptive,” PGW spokesman Cameron Kline said. Daytime construction could conflict with traffic and large events held at Penn, he added.

Another obstacle in changing the schedule is the cost of labor and equipment that PGW has already hired, Kline said.

In addition, he added that PGW has a short window for construction because the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has plans to pave 38th Street.

“We recognize that it is disruptive and we are working as fast as we can,” Kline said. He estimates the project will be completed by the end of April if construction goes according to plan.

The construction hasn’t affected College freshman Gen LaMarr LeMee at all, she said. She and is "relieved" to lives in a part of Fisher-Hassenfeld College House away from 38th street where no one has had to deal with the annoyance, she explained.

Contrastingly, College freshman Ed Wu explained the noise he hears as he tries to sleep in his bedroom in Stouffer Hall as a nuisance. “It’s mostly the jackhammer—it’s very loud and constant for five to ten minutes, then it stops,” he said. “You think it’s gone, then it continues up again.”

The noise of the jackhammer, mixed with the roar of truck engines, makes the noise “so pervasive” that Wu must find a spot other than his room to study.

Wu said it’s “upsetting” that the construction will continue at night. “I blame the University,” he said.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.