Residents in the inner north have been told to expect noisy nights for two and a half weeks as the government plays catch-up due to slow progression of light rail work.
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Some Braddon residents received a letter alerting them to the out-of-hours operation of machinery to take place from April 18 to May 5.
Residents were told excavators and tunnelling machinery would operate between the hours of 6pm to 7am, except on Anzac Day.
The letter said the project team would “limit these impacts wherever possible”, including using non-tonal reversing alerts.
Frustrated resident Brendan Drake noted the letter was framed as “something we’re supposed to be overjoyed about”, by telling those affected it was an “exciting time" for the city and Capital Metro was “working hard to see this vision come to life”.
Mr Drake said on a previous occasion when work was allowed to continue throughout the night, there was about four weeks of “non-stop noise”.
“It was like having a vacuum cleaner on steroids in your house,” Mr Drake said.
"Sleep was impossible."
He said in other contexts sleep deprivation would be viewed as akin to torture, and he was concerned about the impact sleepless nights would have on people who work in areas like nursing or teaching.
“They all have some sort of duty of care, and they will have diminished capacity to go about their work, and even more mundane things like driving. It presents a risk to the wider community,” he said.
Mr Drake said the government should offer alternative accomodation to those affected by the noise, like what was offered to some Melbourne residents during similar construction works around sky rail.
Retired Braddon resident Liz Lanigan is also concerned about sleepless nights due to light rail construction. She said residents shouldn't have to suffer the consequences of what appeared to be a mistake in the delivery timeline.
"It is affecting everybody's mental health, even with the day work," Ms Lanigan said.
She said it was a combination of light rail work and apartment construction that was noisy.
"So now we will get one hour of reprieve," she said, referring to the time the noise from the apartment construction stops at 5pm until 6pm, when light rail work would start up again.
Liberal transport spokeswomen Candice Burch said residents should be offered respite accomodation following the "snap announcement".
"How the government can expect residents to function with little to no sleep for more than two weeks is beyond me," Miss Burch said.
"This was a thoughtless move.
"It's just not fair and it looks like it all comes down to the government playing catch-up on light rail construction.
"There is no way individuals would be allowed to make that level of noise at all hours of the night. So why is it ok for the government, just because it's related to light rail? Braddon residents deserve better," she said.
A spokesman for Transport Canberra and City Services said every effort would be made to minimise noise disturbance to nearby residents.
"Out of hours works are being undertaken in addition to the daytime operations to remove rock in this area," the spokesman said.
"The microtunnelling work is being undertaken to progress installation of an electrical cable from Mort Street carpark substation along Elouera Street into Northbourne Avenue.
"Every effort is made to minimise noise disruption to the residents in the area. Examples of mitigation in place include, wherever possible, carrying out noisier activities earlier in the evening, using noise curtains/ blankets, turning off plant and equipment when not in use, arranging site to minimise the noise of movement alarms on vehicles and plant, the use of “non-tonal” movement alarms which eliminates the need for high pitched reversing beepers," the spokesman said.
"Construction on light rail stage 1 is on schedule for completion in late 2018."
Residents can contact Capital Metro with questions about the light rail project on 1300 208 824.
