Earlier this month, residents near the construction staging area at Park Avenue and Monroe Street were continually awakened in the middle of the night as vehicles moved around, metal pipes were cut and construction equipment was transported to and from the gas-line relocation work being done on Monroe Street.
After four nights of lost sleep, Nazish Mir-Scaer, Monroe Street resident, called the Herndon Police to file a report because of the noise, she said.
"I had been talking for two weeks to the Department of Public Works about the noise," said Mir-Scaer. "Why did they assign this night work in the middle of a residential neighborhood?"
Because the gas company was relocating the gas line, they needed to tear up the road at the corner of Elden and Monroe Streets, said Bob Boxer, director Department of Public Works. It was easier for them to do it at night, when there was less traffic, he said.
Boxer said he was unaware until the project had been finished, that the gas company was violating the town's noise ordinance.
"It's always difficult to find a staging area in town," he said. "We try to minimize the inconvenience, but it's always difficult to find a place large enough to store all the equipment."
Monroe Street is projected to be under construction until approximately March while Public Works staff improves the street's drainage system. The staging area will remain in front of Park Avenue until the construction is complete, said Boxer.
"Because of the type of construction this was, there were times when they had to work at night," he said. "I don't foresee any more night work."