Two more years of this?

[attach]3899[/attach]The prospect of two more years of deep trenches and noisy vehicles just outside their bedroom windows have some residents along Avenue Road concerned about the state of their neighbourhood.

Last May, Toronto Water began the process of replacing a more than 80 year old water main.

The huge undertaking requires the tunneling and excavation of large sections of Avenue Road running from the railway south of St. Clair Avenue to just south of Lawrence Avenue. After the new water main is in place, the old one will be decommissioned.

Construction is scheduled to be completed in late 2012.

Not surprisingly, the city and local reps say they have received a steady stream of complaints since the project began.

Sarah Welstead lives with her husband on Avenue Road, just south of Eglinton Avenue. She says the construction has progressed northward and is now directly in front of her house.

“Earth-shaking and annoying” is how she describes the work being done outside her residence.

“It’s like an oil field out there with the machines,” Welstead said.

A large trench spans the sloping, mud-covered ground. Traffic along the road has been reduced to one lane either way.

[attach]3900[/attach]“The traffic is a problem for the neighbours because a lot of the days it’s hard for them to get into their driveways,” Welstead said.

Although a schedule for the project states that construction along that particular stretch would occur between Jan. 1 and March 31, Welstead says work in the area began in late January, but she pointed out that it doesn’t appear as if the trench will reach Eglinton Avenue by the end of March as projected.

Henry Polvi, a senior engineer with Toronto Water, says the project has encountered some difficulties and is slightly behind schedule.

“We have run into some problems with the soil conditions,” he said. “There’s a lot of water at some of the lower depths where they’re tunneling and also some of the ground has been kind of hard.”

Some residents have found it hard to sleep with work being done so close to their homes. To dig the tunnels, the asphalt first must be broken. To do this, the diggers repeatedly hit their scoops against the pavement. This is in addition to the hammering and pile driving being conducted on-site.

[attach]3901[/attach]In keeping with the city’s noise bylaws, work by the city and Drainstar Contracting is supposed to take place between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. However, Welstead and other residents have indicated to the Town Crier that construction is taking place beyond those hours.

“They start making noise out front with their cranes at 6:30 a.m. so that’s when we get up every morning now,” said Taylor Simms-Brown, who lives a few blocks north of Eglinton Avenue.

Welstead contends the construction often starts as early as 6 a.m. and sometimes causes her house to shake.

Neither the contractor nor Toronto Water have applied for a noise exemption that would allow them to start work earlier, but the city’s licensing and standards department said they have not received any complaints about noise outside of scheduled hours.

Polvi, though, promised to look into the issue when the matter was broached by the Town Crier.

“Some of the contractors may be a little anxious to get started and they’re pushing it a bit,” he said. “If this is happening and we’ll certainly address it with the contractor.”

[attach]3902[/attach]Not everyone in the area feels the construction is a hardship.

At Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School, just north of Eglinton, construction has caused traffic delays and required a bus stop in front of the school to be moved. Although more students have been showing up late, principal Linda Roy says the construction has its benefits.

“The reality is the traffic’s much slower, which is in actual fact a lot safer for us,” Roy said.

Welstead and Simms-Brown both said they realize how important this project is to the city.

“I know they have to fix these pipes, I just don’t think they’re being very efficient about it,” Welstead said.

Simms-Brown said he rents his home, so if the construction gets worse he intends to move.

But Polvi insisted that more progress would be made in the summer.

“Bear with us,” he said. “Things are proceeding as planned, basically, and we’ll get things back to normal in 2012.

“We appreciate the people that are showing some patience. A lot of people hopefully appreciate that it’s necessary.”