This page relates to maintenance or construction work on roads or other public infrastructure.

Road repair and track maintenance

Short-term road repair and tram or rail track maintenance is covered under EPA’s Noise control guidelines (publication 1254), section 3. This sets out normal hours of work and recommended work practices.

Normal work hours for road repair and track maintenance are:

• 7 am – 6 pm Monday to Saturday
• 9 am – 6 pm Sunday and public holidays.

Under the guidelines, contractors need to advise the community of routine work that needs to occur outside of normal hours. This is to give residents time to prepare for any noise, or to inform the contractor if night-time noise disturbance could cause significant disruption.

Major infrastructure works

For major infrastructure works such as sewer replacements, grade separations or road and rail development, EPA’s Environmental guidelines for major construction sites (publication 480) apply. This publication obliges companies to identify, plan for and act to address environmental risks, including noise, and also outlines standard work hours and practices.

Normal work hours for major projects are:

• 7 am – 6 pm weekdays
• 7 am – 1 pm Saturday.

EPA’s Environmental guidelines for major construction sites allows work outside of these hours where it is unavoidable; for example, to avoid risk of a major traffic hazard. The impacts of night work on the community, such as ongoing sleep disturbance over many nights, need to be managed by the contractor. This can sometimes include offers for alternative accommodation.

If you are concerned about roadwork or major infrastructure project noise, the contractor or the government body commissioning the work, such as the local council or VicRoads, should usually be contacted first. Noise should be managed through work contracts. EPA can have a role in responding to major project noise and providing advice.