New College House West extends construction hours to 11 p.m. on most weekdays

Administrators announced that construction on New College House West will extend to 11 p.m. on weekdays, with the possibility of work occasionally ending at 11:30 p.m. The move represents a significant change from the 4:30 p.m. stop time currently in place. 

Students living near the construction zone criticized the shift, saying the new hours will add a greater burden, given work already starts early in the morning.

The new weekday hours will begin on Monday, Nov. 4 and the extension of construction hours will continue until February 2020, according to an email sent to residents at Du Bois College House and Rodin College House Friday.

Previously, construction work occurred from the hours of 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. Now, the construction will continue from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays. On some evenings, the work may extend until 11:30 p.m., Michelle Majeski, the building administrator for Du Bois, Gregory, and Stouffer College Houses wrote in the email.

Construction at night will include installing exterior panels, which will form the building’s walls. 

“The evening schedule will allow the project to use the tower crane, which is tied up with moving steel for the structure during the daytime working hours, to assist with the installation of these exterior panels," Majeski wrote. "Logistics on the site prohibit the installation of a second crane to use for panel installation." 

Installation will first start on the east side of the site, Majeski added. 

Residents may notice additional lighting and may experience similar levels of noise to what they currently experience during the daytime, according to the email. 

There will be accommodations during final exams, administrators said.

“Work will start at 8 a.m. during reading days and final exams, instead of 7 a.m.,” Facilities and Real Estate Services Executive Director of Design and Construction Michael Dausch wrote in an email to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “It is not currently anticipated that second shift work will extend past February, unless the work schedule is delayed by bad weather this winter.” 

Students living near the construction site have protested against the loud noise, which could start as early as 6 a.m., arguing it deprived students of sleep.

Wharton sophomore Donn Boddie said extending the construction hours into the night is frustrating because the increase of noise levels would reduce his productivity. 

“We wouldn’t be able to sleep as much. Just the increased noise would be harder and more annoying for us as residents,” Boddie, who lives in Rodin, said. “It’s not something that I am happy about.” 

College junior Jayme Banks, who lives across the street from the construction site in the Radian, said the noise affects her currently. 

“It wakes us up around seven or eight,” Banks said. 

Other students said they felt less affected by the construction. 

College senior Ronaldo Degazon, who lives in Du Bois, said the construction has so far not affected him during the daytime. College sophomore and Rodin resident Walker Spalek said he does not live on the side of the building that faces the construction site. 

While Spalek could hear the noise sometimes when walking around his apartment, he said it usually doesn’t affect him when he sleeps. 

NCHW was announced with a projected cost of $163 million. The plans were unveiled in November 2017 and construction began in 2018. When completed, the four-year house will stand 13 stories tall and will exclusively house suite-style apartments with no singles.