Neighbors on Jacksonville’s Northside say construction is destroying their private road and shaking their homes, raising legal and safety questions.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Neighbors along a quiet road on Jacksonville’s Northside say their neighborhood is being shaken, literally, by heavy equipment and dump trucks tied to nearby construction. The residents who live along the private road are wondering how the work got approved. They say they feel ignored, trapped and worried about their safety. The neighbors called the Ask Anthony team for help.
“It is 6:25 in the morning and there are dump trucks lining up outside my house,” said Christine Suber as she recorded video from her home. “Tell me how this is legal.”
Instead of waking up to an alarm clock, Suber and her neighbors say they wake up to the sound of heavy trucks. Suber has lived on Bradham Road for about 10 years and says what was once a quiet neighborhood now feels like an industrial work site.
“It’s almost like you live in a construction zone instead of a neighborhood,” Anthony Austin told her.
“You’re telling me, pal,” she replied.
Suber and other neighbors say dump trucks and heavy equipment connected to nearby excavation have damaged their private road, forcing cars into ditches, disrupting deliveries and making it unsafe for children to play outside.
“I can’t send my children to the mailbox anymore,” Suber said.
Neighbors told Anthony Austin the digging started last summer. In October, they were able to get a stop-work order after discovering the work was happening without a permit. But on Jan. 16, they say the trucks returned.
For some residents, the impact goes beyond the road.
Gail Hutcherson has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 50 years. She says constant vibrations from the heavy equipment are damaging her home.
“Sitting in my recliner crocheting, it’s like I’m sitting in a massage chair at the spa,” Hutcherson said. “It’s shaking my house apart. I’ve got a crack in my hallway in the ceiling.”
Anthony Austin reached out to the city of Jacksonville to ask about the work happening on Bradham Road. The city says the property has an active permit approved by the Building Inspection Division, allowing the excavation of a half-acre pond up to 15 feet deep.
“How do you get all these dump trucks out here just for a pond?” Suber asked.
According to the city, three complaints have been reported at the site so far. Two cases involving permitting and material removal have already been inspected, and no violations were found. Code Compliance says another inspection is planned to check for any additional issues.
Meanwhile, neighbors say daily life continues to be disrupted.
“Garbage people came to pick up my trash and one of the guys stopped him and said he couldn’t go down there,” Hutcherson said. “So my garbage is still sitting out.”
Because Bradham Road is private, maintenance falls on the residents, not the city. Neighbors say no one asked permission, no one warned them the work was starting, and they are worried the damage will not be repaired.
A man at the site of the construction showed Anthony Austin a permit and said the road will be repaired once the work is finished. The city says the work is legal and that it will continue to monitor the site for any additional issues.
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