WSDOT will do the following to minimize night construction noise:
- Surround loud equipment with temporary noise shields, noise blankets and skirts.
- Use broadband backup alarms, which are quieter than conventional backup bell alarms.
- Restrict road-scraping equipment. Spilled material on the roadway will be removed by hand methods or by sweeping.
- Require all construction trucks to have rubber bed liners and secured tailgates that don't bang.
- Prohibit pavement breaking work such as hoe rams and concrete crushing equipment
Getting help if construction noise is too loud
Let us know if you are affected by demolition noise.
- Weekdays (8 a.m. - 5 p.m.), phone: 1-888-AWV-LINE (1-888-298-5463) or email: Viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov.
- Nights (5 p.m. - 8 a.m.) and weekends, contact our Chief Inspector at 206-510-1428.
What is pile driving?
Piles are large steel pipe posts that are driven deep into the ground to support a bridge, ramp or above-ground roadway. Crews will use a 23-30 ton crane-mounted pile driving hammer to pound the piles into the ground.
The piles will help form the support structure for the second SR 99 bridge currently construction in SODO. The piles will be driven as deep as 325 feet into the ground.
How loud is pile driving?
The rhythmic pounding of pile driving work is unavoidably noisy and could be disruptive during the day and at night. The city of Seattle’s daytime construction noise limit in the SODO area is continuous non-stop noise measuring 90 decibels. 90 decibels is equivalent to the sound of a countertop blender at three feet or a lawn mower at ten feet
Pile driving sounds as loud as standing next to a jack hammer, except pile driving sounds like a jackhammer in slow motion. To put another way: a jackhammer sounds like a giant woodpecker, a pile driver sounds like a giant stapler.