Construction on McLeod House results in noise concerns for South 40 residents (Mateo Kahoun | Contributing Photographer)

The construction of the James E. and Clara P. McLeod House has caused several students to raise concerns about disruptive noise. The building is expected to be completed by the summer of 2028 and will add housing for 600 underclassmen students on the South 40.

The construction schedule follows guidelines set by the City of Clayton, which permits work from Monday to Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. However, Clayco, the construction firm in charge of this project, has modified these hours to 7:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. 

Despite the reduced hours, sophomore Patrice Itoka said that construction going into 4:30 p.m. has disrupted her schedule. 

“It’s really loud, and it wakes me up from my sleep,” Itoka said. “Even now, I’m working on some homework, and I’m distracted because outside over here they are bulldozing and there is noise from all the construction stuff outside.” 

Students’ preference for later construction start times conflicts with the hours designed to minimize student disruption and prioritize workers’ health in the summer heat. Sophomore Kerry Frey, a Gregg resident, hopes that the hours change moving forward. 

“Maybe it’s too hot for them to work out there in the middle of the day right now,” said Frey. “But I feel like as the weather cools down, I would definitely appreciate them starting later and doing it later in the day when I’m in class.” 

Steve Sobo, the executive director of strategic projects at WashU, explained that these hours are based on limiting hours spent working the heat during the day. He stated that Clayco is working to accommodate and keep workers healthy during their long days outside, especially during the heat wave in the past week. 

“They have more breaks, more electrolytes. They’ve got a misting station. They have several safety people on site that are watching over the workers,” said Sobo. “If they see anybody come anywhere close to not looking right, they’re going to rush them into a tent, into a cooling area. ” 

Sophomore Sara Izhar also has been experiencing disruptions because of the construction. When asked about the frequency of the disturbances, she said that she woke up early every day of the week due to the construction. 

“I have earplugs, and I can still hear it a little bit through the earplugs,” said Izhar. “I keep waking up really early. …It’s messed up my sleep schedule for sure.”

Rob Wild, the associate vice chancellor for Student Success and dean of students, said the noise would continue at various levels until the project’s completion.  

“The demolition and the site prep tend to be louder because tearing down things is louder than building them,” Wild said. “Getting that site to be the right level and getting the dirt in the right places is just going to involve a lot of heavy equipment. We tried our best to get the demo phase done over the summer, but it’s just hard because there’s a lot of work.” 

To accommodate students experiencing discomfort from the construction noise, Wild said the University has increased leeway for room change requests. 

“If students are concerned about the noise and want to know other options of where they could move, they can do that through the normal processes,” said Wild. “We’re going to try to be super sensitive to residents of Gregg because we know that there’s a certain level of impact that the east side [is] experiencing.” 

Wild also noted the University and Clayco’s fast response to amending these issues. 

“[One person] let us know… that they were getting some noise prior to 7 a.m,” Wild said. “It definitely was happening last week, and we apologize for that. That was something that wasn’t our intent, and I really appreciate somebody flagging that for me.”

Wild explained that Clayco and WashU are working together carefully to accommodate student schedules, such as reducing noise during finals week in the winter.

“I don’t know that we’ll completely stop work on those days, but we’re going to be working super closely with them to try to identify if there is work that can be done that’s quieter during those periods,” Wild said. “If there’s not, then we may just have to not work during those periods.”

Despite frustration with noise levels, many students have also expressed excitement for the new dorms, according to Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success Sheryl Mauricio.

“We’ve talked to students about the study space, the big meeting area, and the courtyard,” Mauricio said. “We find that students are a lot more excited for the project to continue so they can experience a different building and space.”