EXCLUSIVE: Home shakes during Eglinton Crosstown construction
Posted March 3, 2016 11:29 am.
Last Updated March 3, 2016 11:30 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
At times it feels like an earthquake. Floors shake, walls vibrate and windows rattle.
For the last month residents in Leaside have been living on the sidelines of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT construction. They tell CityNews powerful tremors caused by tunnel boring machines are keeping them up at night.
Dave, who didn’t want his last name used, sent us video of what his family has been living through. In the video, a constant pounding noise is heard, alongside a deep vibrating sound. The blinds and windows shake, and items on the mantel quiver.
“You know it’s coming for people down there [further east] and they don’t know what to expect and it’s going to impact their lives,” Dave said.
CityNews took the home video to Metrolinx to show the extreme shaking some residents have been experiencing.
“It’s very difficult for us to predict what will be felt on the surface.” Metrolinx spokesperson Jamie Robinson said.
“We communicate to people as best we can through multiple channels that there could be some noise and vibrations.”
Thanks to an amendment to a noise bylaw passed by city council back in 2010, tunnel boring has around-the-clock clearance. According to Dave, the drilling intensifies during week nights and then stops cold for 48 hours over the weekend.
Dave said Metrolinx has confirmed the work schedule: “We chatted with the representative with Metrolinx at the corner here and she told us they have scheduled maintenance on the weekends.”
Metrolinx has not given the neighbourhood adequate warning, resident Cameron Davies told CityNews.
“They did say there would be boring through the area and there would be rattling but I don’t recall a severe warning and what we’ve been experiencing is severe,” he said.
Robinson said though Metrolinx is communicating with residents, the transit agency has received more than 200 complaints related to the noise of the tunnel boring since late November.
Click here to track the progress of the tunnel boring machine.
