Pyrmont Residents Face 24-Hour Disruption Due To Metro Works

Residents of Pyrmont have faced continual disruption from Metro construction – but the worst will soon be over.

Some residents were recently told that they would have to temporarily relocate so drilling can take place around the clock. It is not the first time that residents have been required to move, with Sydney Metro covering the costs of accommodation elsewhere.

By drilling all night, the agency expects that up to four weeks of daytime work will be eliminated.

Meanwhile, other works on the peninsula are also being ramped up this month.

Other works ramping up

On Monday 3 October, locals were notified that Union Street would be closed between Edward Street and Pyrmont Bridge Road for three months from Monday 13 October to pour concrete.

It informed residents that most pouring will take place between 7am and 10pm on all days of the week. However, some pours “will need to continue 24 hours throughout the night.”

“This work is required to complete the permanent concrete lining of the station and cross-over cavern,” Sydney Metro said.

Union Street is an important thoroughfare, running from the Pyrmont Bridge to Miller and Harris streets. However, drivers will easily be able to drive around the closed-off section.

Excavation works are likewise temporarily continuing through the night. Work will take place on weekdays and weekends, finishing on or before the 17th.

“Affected properties have been contacted and will continue to receive direct updates as our work progresses,” a community notification reads.

For each of these works, a number of strategies to reduce impacts on the community have been outlined. These include installing “acoustic tents” at the Union Street worksite to mitigate noise, scheduling “high impact work” related to the concrete pours within normal construction hours, and using less machinery related to excavation works in the evening, “where possible.”

Though ongoing works are among the most disruptive, excavation of the station cavern is nearing completion.

“These works will continue intermittently over the next few months and may cause temporary ground borne noise and vibration,” this month’s Pyrmont newsletter from Sydney Metro states.

Less disruption elsewhere

Pyrmont’s surrounding stations on the new line, in Rozelle and the terminus on Hunter Street, are not immediately surrounded by residential areas.

The Bays station site in Rozelle straddles the Balmain Peninsula and Glebe Island, and is near to the White Bay Power Station.

Hunter Street – not the station’s final name – is being built near the existing Wynyard station.

The project’s two tunnel boring machines, Jessie and Ruby, recently reached Pyrmont and are continuing towards Hunter Street in the city centre.