Crews working on H Street NE past 1 am this morning. Unsure whether working on an emergency or just sadistic. Photo by THIH reader @avamny
At least one resident in the 300 block of H Street NE was. THIH reader @avamny reached out to us last night with the following tweet:
is it ok to have jackhammers and the like on #hst at 2AM on a weeknight? @HStreetDC_ @HStreetDC @theHillisHome
— ava y (@avanmny) January 25, 2017
She also shared a video of the crews jackhammering away:
HOW IS THIS OK TO GO FROM 1AM – 4AM ON A WEEKNIGHT, @charlesallen @councilofdc @311DCgov @MayorBowser @EleanorNorton @DDOTDC @CMCharlesAllen pic.twitter.com/kJAvOn9stj
— ava y (@avanmny) January 25, 2017
While it is not unusual for emergency crews to do nighttime work around the city so as not to disrupt daytime traffic patterns, it is very painful to have loud construction on your block in the middle of the night, especially when it may not be for work that is urgent. I still remember how painful it was to hear the midnight construction at the Hart Building, several blocks away from my house, and that was certainly not an emergency to warrant nighttime work.
According to our reader, the crews had permits to work at that time (1-4 a.m.). However, the Mayor’s Office of Community Relations responded to the tweets in an empathetic and swift way:
Thanks @avanmny for bringing this to our attention. @DDOTDC is currently investigating and will get back to you soon. Cc: @MayorBowser
— DC MOCRS (@DCMOCRS) January 25, 2017
Hope the crews are able to get their work done without keeping everyone in the vicinity awake tonight! Keep us informed, @avamny!