RESIDENTS of Cooper Street, Engadine, say they have endured more than three years of disruption to their lives and damage to their property during the construction of Ausgrid's new $42 million substation in their street.
Construction of the new substation on the corner of Cooper Street and Princes Highway started in December 2011 and was supposed to take about 12 months.
But more than three years later it is still not finished.
Residents say they have received no response from Ausgrid.
Bill Galasi, who lives directly opposite the substation, said trucks using the site were damaging the road and nearby properties.
"They have driven onto my lawn and cracked the gutter and driveway," he said.
"They haven't fixed any of it; I've had to repatch the lawn myself. It's not even my front lawn — it's council property. I just wanted it to be presentable."
Karen Pritchard said the trucks had parked in her driveway.
"They ripped up my driveway and said it would be fixed which they haven't done," she said.
Chris Hawes said a truck from the construction site had backed into her water meter.
"I just want it fixed," she said.
Max Harry said that last year a four-wheel-drive got stuck in a pothole full of water in the car park near the playground in Cooper Street Reserve.
"She had to rev the engine to get out of the hole, then shot out of the car park and knocked over a fence, just missing a child," he said.
"For two years we have put up with constant work including the digging up of the road on two occasions, trucks arriving around 2am or as late as 10pm, and floodlights or alarms going off all night."
An Ausgrid spokesman said: "We recognise the project has taken longer than expected because of the time taken to install the high voltage cables that will supply the new substation.
"Ausgrid is committed to being a good neighbour to the residents of Cooper Street," he said.
"As part of the project, Ausgrid built kerb and guttering on this part of the street that was previously unpaved.
"We also laid a turf nature strip along the Cooper Street side of the substation and installed modern fencing around the new substation.
"Last week, specialist road contractors completed the final reinstatement of the sections of Cooper Street we excavated for cable works."
But Mr Galasi disagreed.
"They have resealed patches of the road and it looks pathetic; all this is after promises that they were going to reseal the whole road," he said.
"When it rains the potholes are full of water.
"We are living in Third World conditions with dirt and gravel flying up whenever a bus or truck passes."
Ausgrid technicians are preparing to commission the new substation.
"Once the old substation is out of service, we will remove equipment from the site and finish the remaining fencing and landscaping," the Ausgrid spokesman said.
Residents could phone Ausgrid at any time on 1800 604 765.
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