A 115-year-old water pipe is in the process of being replaced by Lewis and Tibbitts, Inc. contractors and public utility company San Jose Water at the intersection of Seventh Street and San Fernando Street on Tuesday afternoon.
San Jose Water construction supervisor Ernie Robles said the pipe had a few leaks and needed to be replaced to suit the amount of water local residents currently use.
Robles said the process of replacing the main pipe, following up on water services for nearby homes and repaving the cement will take about another month. He said Seventh Street will be closed for another couple of weeks.
“We're here to help each other out,” Robles said. “This is definitely for the benefit of everybody.”
Robles said his team blocked off Seventh Street because they are working in a heavily trafficked area and have to take safety precautions for both the workers and the public.
Computer engineering lecturer Chao-Li Tarng said he teaches several classes at the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering building closeby the site
He said he wishes he would have been warned about the noise level or given an opportunity to teach elsewhere and avoid the loud sounds from disrupting classes.
Tarng said the construction has been going for the last month or two but he is trying his best to make it work in class.
“Obviously they're doing something good for the street, for the school (and) for the city,” Tarng said. “I'm supporting them, but on the other hand, it's been so long so I'm a little bit frustrated. My students are frustrated too.”
Tarng said he and his students have to speak louder to hear each other past the construction noise.
Accounting senior Taylor Luong said he lives a block away from the intersection, and walks to class. He said he doesn’t know what the construction is for, only that it’s been going on for some time.
“The noise can get a little much depending on what they're doing,” Luong said. “There was one day when they were making a lot of noise and I was just walking towards campus, and it was kind of disturbing.”
Luong said the construction has added an extra five minutes to his commute to campus and he finds it inconvenient when driving to places such as the grocery store or freeway.
He said it mostly affects people in the afternoon, because that’s when campus is the most busy.
“The construction has been going on for quite some time, so it just shuts down this entire road,” Luong said. “I'm pretty sure commuters feel a little different (compared to me) when they have to park on campus or just getting around places.”
