Sleepless nights over construction noise in Thorndon

Wednesday, 16 April 2025

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Thorndon resident Helena Cho is over the roadworks along Thorndon Quay that continue at all hours of the night.

It's been weeks and most nights she is woken by the noise of the work from the Thorndon Quay project.

“I’m so sleep-deprived it’s affecting my work,” she said.

“As with many other jobs, my work needs a proper sleep since it is mentally draining type of work. Due to the sleep deprivation caused by the construction noise, my performance at work has been greatly impacted.”

Cho has taken videos of the noise ‒ clearly heard even though she is in one of the multi-level apartment buildings adjacent to the site.

Downer is upgrading the traffic lights at Tinakori Rd and Thorndon Quay, along with surfacing, line marking, improved lighting and the installation of a cycleway.

The work had been carried out at night from March 10 for several weeks.

It is only part of the Thorndon Quay project which includes peak-hour bus lanes in both directions, a two-way cycle path, five signalised pedestrian/bike crossings and fewer car parks.

Cho said the the noise was almost every night on weekdays.

“Sometimes they start making noise from 8pm to after 11pm and sometimes they stop before 11pm.”

But she had also had noise loud enough to wake her at 3am.

Last time she called noise control to make a complaint due to ground-breaking noise after 11pm, she said she was told “enjoy living in a thriving city”.

The last construction update in March said nine of the 13 work steps had been completed.

A Wellington City Council spokesman said the works could occur at night if they adopted the best practice to reduce noise effects, which in this case is for noisier works (such as excavation) until 11pm. After 11pm, the consented noise limits for works are lower.

He said the work was being undertaken at night to avoid congestion and disruption to commuters during the day.

He said residents were given notice of upcoming roadworks, so they had time to make alternative arrangements if desired. However, Cho said in the apartment buildings those notifications had gone to management and not to individual residents.

In 2017 the council had to speak to Fulton Hogan contractors about the level of noise after 11pm following multiple complaints from inner city residents.

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