The Silver Spring Penguin

People living in the hard-hat zone that is South Silver Spring can add a new sound to the construction cacophony: BOOM!

The developer of a residential project at East-West Highway and Blair Mill Road began blasting away at the underlying bedrock three days ago, according to Clifford Leiter, whose company is responsible for pushing the plunger.

The blasting, which goes down once daily at 2:00 p.m., makes way for an underground parking garage at 1200 East-West Hwy, states a post on the South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association’s website.

No sidewalks or roads will be closed during the blasting, Leiter told The Penguin. He also predicted that vibrations would not affect residents or property in nearby apartments.

The Blairs apartment complex sits immediately west of the construction site, with The Bennington apartments and Silverton condos across the street on East-West Highway. The Mica condos sit across the street on Blair Mill Road.

“It’s a pretty startling thing to hear/feel, even a block away,” Eastern Village resident Megan wrote on the neighborhood association’s website. She and her neighbors have been dealing with the daily sound of jackhammers at another construction project — The Argent at 1200 Blair Mill Rd — for nearly a year, she said.

“So I suppose one explosive blast per day is better … ,” Megan added.

Along with the daily kaboom, construction workers will blast air horns to warn of the impending explosion. One long note will sound 15 minutes before the blast, then three short notes for a 5-minute warning. Just before the blast, workers will toot five short notes. Another single long note gives the all clear.

How long the blasting will last has not been determined, Leiter said.

Photo: The construction site at 1200 East-West Hwy (photographed last summer) sits near a couple of existing structures: (from left) the Blair East apartment building, NOAA offices, The Bennington apartments and The Silverton condos. The Mica condos (not pictured) sits across the street on Blair Mill Road. Credit: R. Pace/SSP.