Suburban Rail Loop residents facing years of construction noise told to stick in some earplugs

Building a rail line through middle Melbourne will take years, so locals thought they needed their ears checked when told how to block out construction noise.

Families next to the $34.5 billion Suburban Rail Loop East fear they will be wearing disposable earplugs for years to drown out construction commotion.

Earplugs, white noise machines and noise-cancelling headphones have been put forward as acoustic solutions for residents near to the epicentre of tunnelling and building zones — some of which will be in place for six years.

When noise exceeds “acceptable guidelines” and earplugs are deemed insufficient, property windows could be double glazed, acoustic walls erected, or temporary relocation offered.

Impacted residents say the unique scale and location of the SRL East project, which stretches 26km from Cheltenham to Box Hill through middle suburban Melbourne, makes the construction chaos more intrusive and will change the nature of quiet suburban streets.

Particular concerns have been raised about aged care residents in Box Hill who can’t relocate.

The full Suburban Rail Loop plan, including the first section between Cheltenham and Box Hill the government wants to open by 2035.

Hearings into the project’s Environment Effects Statement were told by noise mitigation experts that Box Hill was a particularly complex site to manage.

Lawyers for Whitehorse Council asked how aged care residents in the area would be supported, with one engineer saying acoustic sheds would be considered, while other affected residents nearby could go to the office if daytime noise was “a problem for them”.

Michelle Hornstein, who lives near a proposed SRL stabling yard in Heatherton, said “it is unacceptable for residents to be expected to wear earplugs in their own home for years on end” and questioned what happened to pets.

“You can’t put earplugs on dogs. Even if temporary relocation is offered, will people be able to take their dogs with them?”

Burwood resident Michelle Mayur said earplugs would be okay temporarily but “it is ridiculous to expect families to wear earplugs inside their own home for maybe years on end”.

Residents impacted by Suburban Rail Loop plans met at Heatherton to discuss concerns with the state opposition. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Residents from Cheltenham, Heatherton, Burwood, and Box Hill recently met to discuss concerns with opposition transport infrastructure spokesman Matt Bach, who said: “instead of handing out earplugs, Daniel Andrews needs to start listening to locals”.

The Suburban Rail Loop Authority says independent investigations found SRL East construction noise would “generally fall within the relevant EPA and Victorian Government policies”.

Chief executive of SRLA, Frankie Carroll, said residents and businesses would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

“Every EES applies requirements to manage construction noise — sometimes that’s via acoustic sheds or noise walls, sometimes it’s double glazing windows in peoples’ homes, and sometimes its simple things like ear plugs or white noise machines.”