Orange road barrels are still scattered across campus and noise from drilling continues to resonate almost three weeks after Labor Day, the deadline promised by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority for completion of construction on Commonwealth Avenue.
The construction project, which runs from the BU East to the BU Central T stops, will not be complete until the end of the year, according to Lydia Rivera, spokeswoman for the MBTA. Earlier in the year, Rivera told The Daily Free Press that construction would run smoothly through the summer.
“With many projects we do encounter delay either with weather or other issues,” Rivera said.
The Labor Day due date was originally chosen so construction would take place during the summer, when the majority of students are on break, Rivera said.
Kelly Sharbaugh, a School of Education freshman, said she noticed the construction noise yesterday as she stepped off the Boston University shuttle.
“If I was still asleep I would be upset,” Sharbaugh said. “My class was only at nine in the morning.”
The construction, which also started behind schedule, will increase the wheelchair accessibility of the waiting platforms in order to compliment new, handicapped-accessible trolleys. However, many students, including School of Management freshman Danci Yuan, said they were upset the construction hadn’t been finished during the summer as promised.
“It’s very annoying, especially during the day,” said Yuan, who lives across from the construction site in Warren Towers. “They drill and you can’t study in your room.”
Rivera said the MBTA was attempting to keep the project as quiet as possible, but the loud noises that result from the construction are often unavoidable.
“The contractors have been instructed to keep noise at a minimum,” Rivera said. “We are aware, but it is obviously difficult, and the project is needed.”
According to Rivera, construction will take place between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Neighborhood businesses said they are also affected by the delays from the MBTA project. Suzie Thelemon, a Ferretti’s employee, said the noise from the construction forces her to turn the music up inside. She also said many students no longer utilize the sidewalk seating.
“We use to have a lot of customers sit outside, but now they don’t,” Thelemon said.
On the other hand, Noanna Tzinakos, a College of Communication freshman and Warren Towers resident, said she believed the construction noise was normal for an urban environment.
“I’m from Brooklyn so I’m used to the construction. I can sleep through it,” Tzinakos said. “But my neighbors complain that the noise stops only after they wake up.”