Residents in Sydney’s Inner West have arked up over a flyer drop advising them to use earplugs, play background noise and move their bed away from the walls to reduce noise pollution as result of the near 24-hour tunnelling in the Western Harbour Tunnel.
Earlier this week, some locals in the affluent suburb of Balmain received a four-page pamphlet warning residents of “drilling” noises, and “repetitive tapping” sounds from rock bolting and rock hammering machines.
Tunnelling in Rozelle and Balmain will take place all day between Monday to Friday, and between 6am to 6pm on Saturdays, with work paused on Sunday.
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While the pamphlet said crews could not “eliminate noise”, it offered steps people could take to “minimise the impact”.
This included using “background noise sources such as fans, television, or music to help reduce ground borne noise,” and “earplugs rolled tightly and inserted correctly, as this can greatly reduce noise”.
People were also advised to move their beds away from the wall, or “temporarily sleep on a higher floor in the property if possible”.
A spokeswoman for Inner West councillor Mayor Kobi Shetty, and state MP for Balmain, Kobi Shetty, confirmed her office had received several calls from concerned residents, ahead of the tunnelling.
Balmain resident, Ross Mackenzie, who received the pamphlet on Thursday said this was the first time he or his wife had received information on the tunnelling works.
He said he was bewildered by advice to residents that told them to use earplugs, and reposition their beds.
“I thought they were trying to pull our leg, it’s a bit of a joke really,” he said.
While he doesn’t believe his home will be impacted by the noise, he feared for heritage homes in his suburb.
“A lot of the houses in Balmain are over 100 years old, and there was quite a number of them cracking in Haberfield when WestConnex was being done,” he said.
“If that happens here, there’s more likely to be more major cracks, especially if it’s too close to the tunnelling.”
Ms Shetty said she hopes all noise complaints would be taken seriously, and said she’d advocate “proper support to minimise the impact on our community” during the tunnel’s construction.
“I’m concerned that the flyer sent to residents demonstrates continued disregard for the impact on our community resulting from tunnelling for the construction of toll roads,” she said.
“During the construction of WestConnex, our community faced significant ongoing disruption.
“Residents experienced around the clock noise, disrupting work, exams, and sleep. Some were offered laughable solutions like noise cancelling headphones, while others were offered settlements and forced to sign nondisclosure agreements to prevent public criticism.”
Current contingency measures mean, households subjected to more than 45 decibels, which compares to the sound of quiet background chat – for more than two nights in a row will be provided with respite.
However, the pamphlet said there were currently no homes along the tunnel alignment where noise levels were expected to surpass the level.
It’s understood 14 noise complaints have been made to Transport for NSW (TfNSW) in 2023, in regards to the Western Harbour Tunnel Stage 1 work.
A TfNSW spokesperson said they acknowledged the “works may temporarily impact residents”.
“To minimise the impact of our work, we monitor noise periodically so we can manage any potential impacts and adjust our work as required and fit equipment with devices to minimise noise,” they said.
“Transport will continue to work closely with local communities throughout the Western Harbour Tunnel project.
Slated to open in 2028, the Western Harbour Tunnel will link the Warringah Freeway with the Rozelle Interchange, with hopes of redirecting traffic from the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Harbour Tunnel, Anzac Bridge and Western Distributor.
The first stage of the project will create a tunnel from Rozelle to Birchgrove and is due to be completed by 2025.
On Monday, tunnelling reached a new milestone, with the second stage of excavations beginning at Cammeray for the second stage of the construction.