DASH building works bring sleepless nights for condo residents

Pillars for the Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway seen in close proximity to the Metropolitan Square condominium.

PETALING JAYA: Residents of a condominium at Damansara Perdana are up in arms over noise from the construction of the Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway or DASH which they say has been giving them sleepless nights for about two years now.

According to a resident who asked to be known as Firdaus, construction work is taking place too close to the Metropolitan Square condominium.

He told FMT that many were bothered by the sound of cranes and loud hammering even early in the morning.

“I have to come down and scold the construction workers every now and then, just for them to stop their work and allow people to sleep,” he said.

The Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 states that construction work can only be done from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday with the exception of public holidays.

But Firdaus said work sometimes began much earlier than 8am and continued past the cut-off point. He shared several video clips of him scolding a construction worker for the noise at about 4am, and said there were other videos of work continuing after 6pm.

He said the proximity of the work site to the condominium was a problem.

Criteria for environmental impact assessments by the Department of Environment state that construction work cannot be done too close to residential units to prevent noise pollution.

Part of the highway structure seen close to Block D of the Metropolitan Square condominium.

According to a construction plan shared by Firdaus, work on the highway would take place at least 14m from the residential area.

However, a closer look showed that several pillars were only a few feet away from one of the condominium blocks.

Firdaus said traffic congestion was another concern for the residents, with bumper-to-bumper conditions on most weekdays.

“You can barely go over 5km an hour here,” he added.

When it rains, he said, driving conditions deteriorate as roads often flood.

A restaurant owner in the area who identified himself as William said businesses are also suffering from the noise and dust of the construction.

He indicated one of the expressway’s pillars which had been erected close to his restaurant, which he said had affected his business.

“The previous tenant closed his shop because business was getting bad,” he said.

“I just started mine here, and I can tell that pollution and parking is a problem because of this construction.”

A crane parked right outside the main entrance of the condominium.

William is hopeful that things will get better once construction is over, but fears that parking will remain an issue.

The land at Damansara Perdana where the expressway is being built is owned by Saujana Triangle, a subsidiary of MK Land. The expressway as a whole is owned by Prolintas.

According to Firdaus, property prices have also been affected by the highway construction.

“Before the construction, units were priced at RM500,000 to RM600,000,” he said.

“Now, selling them off for even RM300,000 is difficult.”

Before construction began, he said, he had gone door-to-door to collect signatures for a memorandum against it but to no avail.

“The very least they could do is compensate us for our trouble since there is no way to stop the construction now.” - FMT