FLL Runway Expansion Causing Headaches For Dania Beach Residents

DANIA BEACH (CBS4) - As construction on the expanded runway at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport kicks into high gear, nearby residents are dealing with the fallout.

Homeowners in the Melaleuca Gardens neighborhood that is located just south of the massive construction project are dealing with noise, dirt, and speeding trucks.

Dean Harley and his wife Jennifer blame the constant pounding machinery for the long cracks that have appeared on their living room ceiling.

Harley took home video of glasses rattling on his shelves while the construction was underway last Friday.

"At eleven o'clock, 12 o'clock at night, you are trying to go to sleep and you get woken up by rattling, that's what we're dealing with right now," said Harley.

The Harley's bought their home in Melaleuca Gardens in 2007, aware that the expansion project could happen.

But the Harley's say they never anticipated what construction would bring; constant dirt, noise and dump trucks speeding down Griffin Road and running red lights.

"I would never have expected it to be so awful, the dump trucks not obeying the speed limit, the dirt and debris, cracks in the ceiling. and you have to wonder what's next?" said Jennifer Harley.

Melaleuca Gardens resident Linda Bates agrees that the dirt and speeding trucks are a problem. Bates has lived in the neighborhood 40 years.

"The dirt has made my allergies bad," she said. "I wake up sick."

Bates said she can't wait to have her home soundproofed, her windows and doors insulated as part of the expansion deal.

Airport spokesman Greg Meyer told CBS4 that they take all construction concerns seriously.

"The contractors have increased street cleaning and put in sod early to cut down on the dirt and dust," he said.

Meyer also says BSO has stepped up patrols on Griffin Road to catch speeders and that deputies have issued hundreds of tickets.

And he says the contractors have paid for thousands of car wash vouchers that were given to the city of Dania Beach for distribution to residents.

"We are doing everything we can to accommodate our neighbors to the south," said Meyer.

Meyer says by June there will be fewer heavy dump trucks travelling to the construction site because all the fill for the project will be in place.

However there are many months ahead for construction headaches. The expanded runway is still a year and half away from completion.