Rockaway Beach Road residents may be in for some noisy nights later this summer.
The Bainbridge Island Public Works Department is hoping to get the OK from the city’s planning commission to work outside the hours set by city regulations on noise.
Public works officials will ask planning commissioners at their meeting this week for a variance. If approved, loud construction work on the Rockaway Beach Road stabilization project can happen late at night or early in the morning.
The city is planning to fix approximately 550 feet of Rockaway Beach Road and build a 340-foot retaining wall along the bluff to prevent landslides and further damage to the road.
The work will be done just south of Old Creosote Hill Road, and construction is expected to start as early as Monday, Aug. 19.
The city’s public works department wants to use two revolving shifts that would go night and day on the project so work on the beach can be finished by Sept. 15.
Any work outside standard construction hours would be limited to 30 days or less, city officials said.
Work is expected to continue on the project at all hours of the day and night. The noisiest work — pile- and sheet-driving and other activities — would be done between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m.
City officials have also promised to provide three days of advance notice for any work that will happen outside of the 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. timeframe “to the extent practical.”
If possible, city officials also said temporary noise shields will be placed around generators, air compressors and other equipment.
Equipment that may cause noise includes a tug and barge that will be equipped with warning horns; trucks; cranes, excavators, loaders and other heavy equipment; pile-driving equipment; generators, air compressors and jackhammers.
Officials said the noise variance request is necessary because of limitations set by the state to avoid environmental impacts.
The city council is expected to award a bid for some of the construction work on the $1.8 million project at its meeting Wednesday.
Four bids were received and bids were opened last week.
The low bidder was Redside Construction of Port Gamble. The company submitted a base bid amount of $1,056,432 for the construction of a new soldier pile wall along a section of Rockaway Beach and for repair work on Rockaway Beach Road.
The planning commission will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8 at city hall.
