i live on a street that dead-ends into I-85.
the biggest problem with that is the massive construction. there was interstate construction when i bought the house last year, and the construction continues to this day.
when i stand at the end of my driveway and turn my head to the left i see 3 houses, then an embankment that is the highway. cars fly by. people are in their living rooms, mere feet away. this is an ugly, noisy way to live.
since the day i moved in i have been eagerly awaiting the installation of a big, brick wall that will separate my street from the interstate, my eyes from the speeding automobiles. this will give us all a needed break from the eyesore... and from the earsore of growling semis.
as i wait, the highway construction continues. as soon as the new southbound lanes of I-85 are complete, traffic will shift and they can start building my wall. i can see the progress, but it's not coming quickly. but i'm certain those lanes will be done soon. they have to be.
because right now, at 8:40pm on this monday evening, there is the most amazing sound of WORK happening out there. POUND POUND POUND POUND POUND POUND, like a lumbering 20-ton jackhammer bashing something into the ground. the noise is inescapable in my house right now. it's unbelievable. it's the sound of progress.
and i have to believe that my wall will be here soon.
Posted by xta at October 11, 2004 8:47 PM | TrackBackOh god, poor you! I can just hear what I sincerely hope is the I-85 construction, because a few days ago it was going on at midnight (I mean, I'd hate to think they were digging up a residential street at midnight). But I can't begin to imagine how much it must suck to live so close to it all. My theory: it's all a plot by Greensboro to make the rest of North Carolina like their particular stretch of I-85/40. Urgh.
Posted by: bwventril at October 11, 2004 10:03 PMan update:
as i was out driving around this morning i think i spotted the location of the noise. more than half of the old duke street bridge over I-85 has now been pummeled into rubble. there's a very large machine sitting nearby, on what's left of the bridge, that looks like a prime suspect in the matter.
I hope it goes quickly....I lived with jackhammer noise for a whole summer and it nearly drove me batty.
Posted by: lainey at October 12, 2004 11:17 PMi think they were at it again last night. i could hear something at my place around midnight.
Posted by: lisa at October 13, 2004 10:25 AMYes, it's the demolition of the old Duke St. bridge. We walked out the other night after dinner just to watch it. It is incredibly loud and dramatic. Oddly, it doesn't bother me at night--it's a deep, pounding noise rather than a shrill or beeping one. Of course, I'm two blocks away--I would probably feel differently if I lived down on Ruby St.
As for those brick walls, my parents are always amazed to see them. They are significantly nicer than your average highway noise barrier wall (my parents ought to know: they live near a major highway junction in Atlanta, with miles and miles of plain gray concrete noise walls). My father is convinced there's some kickback involved!
Posted by: amy at October 13, 2004 5:57 PMamy, even in raleigh, along I-540, they have yukky beige concrete slab walls. i am grateful that the DOT is giving durham a prettier alternative... even if kickbacks are involved. :-)
Posted by: christa at October 13, 2004 11:02 PMIs this why I have been hearing extremely loud, smashing noises in the Braggtown area of Durham at all hours of the night? I know it must be construction, but I'm curious if I'm the only one being woken up by it. It's driving me batty! It sounds like someone is in my livingroom breaking down rock walls with a tractor. OK, I'm a light sleeper, I admit it.
Posted by: Jill at October 18, 2004 9:34 PM