THE Highways Agency have set the record straight over the noise that kept hundreds of South Ockendon residents awake on Tuesday night.
A spokesperson said:
"We are sorry to hear that some local residents have been affected by our works. We are doing as much as possible of this noisy work during day shifts but unfortunately, some piling work has to be done during mid-week night shifts as lane closures are required.
Last night we were working on sheet piling on the entry slip road to the A13 eastbound from junction 30. This work is a vital part of constructing a new retaining wall which will strengthen the embankment and enable us to widen the existing slip road.
We wrote letters to residents in the South Ockendon and Aveley areas to inform you about this work following Thurrock Borough Council’s authorisation of the night-time piling work via a variation to the Control of Pollution Act.
The piling on the A13/J30 westbound off slip started on 15 June and continued for 3½ weeks. The piling on the A13/J30 eastbound on-slip road started on 4 July. Since last Friday, 8 July we have been using vibration to drive the sheet piles using a Leader Rig followed by hammering to drive it to the required depth during daytime shifts only.
Last night 19 July was the first time we had used the night shift to hammer the sheet piles to depth, and the work in this area could not have been completed on day shifts because it needed a lane closure. We acknowledge that this work was noisy and very much regret the disturbance to residents, especially on such a hot evening.
The piling is now complete and on Thursday night, the only activity we will be doing will be to remove some equipment from site and you should not be disturbed.
We apologise to residents for the disturbance on Wednesday evening and, if you have any questions about this work, please contact Highways England on 0300 123 5000 or info@highwaysengland.co.uk.
