Overnight work on Hwy. 12 draws flak

Overnight construction work started on sections of Highway 12 this week – and not everybody’s happy about it.

First District Supervisor Susan Gorin said her office has received some calls about the overnight jackhammering and other assorted noises that go along with digging up a highway, and they’ve also noticed a number of posts on the Springs Community Alliance Facebook page.

The work is being done by subcontractors for PG&E and crews are moving gas lines before the Highway 12 sidewalks and streetlights project starts.

Gorin said PG&E sent letters out to people living along Highway 12 last week about the overnight work. “But we weren’t aware of the nighttime jackhammering,” she said.

PG&E’s notice said that the work would last through the end of June, but is also dependent on the weather and other factors.

She said Caltrans asked for the overnight work in order to minimize traffic tie-ups during the day. “But at 2 a.m.?” she said. “It’s understandable when you’re having a sleepless night.”

Gorin posted a message to the Springs Community Alliance Facebook page Thursday that said in part, “The current night work on Highway 12 in the Springs/Agua Caliente Area is due to PG&E improvements being completed and not to the Highway 12 Pedestrian Safety Improvement Project. PG&E is currently working under an Encroachment Permit with Caltrans and Sonoma County does not have any direct involvement with the work.

“The majority of the jack-hammering and saw-cutting work should be finished between May 8 and May 15.

PG&E is currently working at several locations which span from Hwy. 12 at Lichtenberg Avenue to Agua Caliente Road.

They will be potholing the existing utilities throughout the project limits, and will be installing new pressure control valves at Lichtenberg and Agua Caliente, and will relocate the existing 8-inch gas transmission mains at Fetters Creek, Sunnyside Avenue, and Vailetti Drive. The first couple of weeks will involve a lot of jackhammering to break through the existing asphalt and concrete roadway so that PG&E can access their existing utilities. They will then excavate trenches in the new alignment, which will still create a lot of noise with backup alarms, etc., but the jackhammering should be reduced. PG&E estimates that their work in the area will be complete by the end of July,” the statement said.

Gorin said her office tries to monitor what’s happening in the Valley – especially now that the Highway 12 project is about to begin.

“We appreciate people posting on Facebook whatever the problem,” she said. “But often times they don’t follow up with a call to the district office. The more information we have, the sooner we can get on it.”