Woburn residents fed up with shaking homes, dangers from construction site

WOBURN, Mass. — Soon, Woburn will be home to a brand new housing development called The Ledges, but residents along Main Street say they're feeling the pain of the process right now. Blasting at the site has been rocking homes and sending boulders toward them.

Boston 25 News' drone video shows the sprawling site soon to be The Ledges, four buildings, 160 apartment units. The site is now the source of many headaches along Main Street.

Jaclyn Russis, who lives near the site, says she has cracks in her walls due to the blasting.

"We feel the blasting every day. I've already experienced structural damage on my walls," she said. "Huge cracks, over 15 inches long. Several of them on different walls."

Nicole Pejic and her family live directly behind the construction site and they are concerned over the ongoing blasting.

"There was a couple of boulders right there, they blasted there near the fenced property line," said Pejic.

The boulders and the construction work is very close to the backyard. The children's toys and swing set is back there, but their mother won't let them use any of it because of her concerns over safety.

In a phone interview with Boston 25 News, an attorney representing the developer tells us the contractor is aware of neighbor's concerns and is taking all safety precautions, as for the boulders.

"I did have a discussion today with the contractor about this today actually and he indicated that that was not a result of blasting it was actually the result of an excavator moving material after a blast occurred," said Paul Haverty, the attorney representing Woburn 38 Development.

He also told us, "I am waiting to hear back from the site contractor on when blasting commenced, but it was several weeks after we had the neighborhood meeting, which was held back in March, so it likely began in April.  Phase I of the blasting will be completed next week, leaving them approximately 50% complete with blasting.  There will be a pause in blasting (likely for 1-2 months) before the next phase begins."

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City hall has fought this on several fronts because of traffic and blasting, spending 100,000 in legal fees, said Mayor Scott Galvin.

"This is a project that was forced down the city's throat," said Galvin.

A battle the mayor says failed because the state's housing appeals committee gave the project the green light. Now, the city is keeping a close eye on the project and has a firefighter watching every blast.

>> More information: Chapter 40 B Planning and Information

"If I could shut that project down tomorrow, legally for a violation, we would do it," he said.

All while Pejic's son Nico looks on from a window at his yard, air filled with dust.

"It's like dirty sand and stuff mixed together," said Pejic.

As work continues, the developer's attorney says they will be pausing blasting for a month or two until the next phase of the project.

Meantime, public safety officials from the city, state, and federal government are closely watching this site.

The mayor says people who have property damage from the blasting can report it to the fire department.

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