Information required to apply for night construction work.
Washington State Administrative Code (WAC 173-60), as well as local ordinances, protect residents from the intrusion of nighttime construction noise. Simply purchasing a variance is not an option for contract expedience. It is the contractor's responsibility to be aware of their obligation for these laws or regulations, and obtain variances where they are necessary to completing the contracted work.
If all alternatives to night work are exhausted and we must restrict the contractor's operations to nighttime construction, it is our responsibility to obtain the necessary variance(s). A written request 4 to 6 months prior to advertisement of your project is required from your office before we can submit a noise variance request for night work. Since many of these variances will be processed by a health department, the request should address the health, safety, and welfare of the traveling public, the employees on the project, and the local residents.
The following plan sheets, equipment lists, and traffic information for construction work at night are necessary to write a request to local agencies for permission to do nighttime construction work. A separate package is required for each city or county jurisdiction.
Project Description and Plan Sheets:
- A description of proposed project.
- A description of work to be performed during nighttime hours.
- Plan Sheets showing where on the project the night work will performed, the type of night work performed in each area, where light plants and flashing arrow board signs are likely to be located.
- The advertisement, earliest start and latest ending dates for the project.
Traffic and other Departmental or Agency Information:
- Letter from Traffic or agency requiring nighttime work explaining why this work cannot be performed during daytime hours.
- Brief description of detours and Traffic Control plan.
Specific Night Construction Work Information:
A list of Construction Equipment, the number of pieces, type and size that will be required for the night work and the kind of work it will be performing. If possible determine how long each piece will be operating each time it is used.
List the hours of operation and the number of nights the variance or exemption is needed within each jurisdiction.
It is essential that design and project offices coordinate efforts in determining the necessary variance parameters, i.e. type of work, equipment expected to be used, and total number of nights required.