ARLINGTON — They claim they've never signed away their mineral rights and never taken a big bonus check.
But families in one South Arlington neighborhood say they're now living in an industrial zone.
The noise and vibration is so bad that one elderly woman likens it to an earthquake.
There are a lot of reasons to move to Harwood Road, but homeowners who spoke with News 8 say it's all been wiped out by one new arrival: the pipeline.
The Martinez family moved to Winter Park Lane in South Arlington for the sake of their three children. "We moved over here because there is nothing going on right here, no noise," Yasmin Martinez said.
That changed with a knock on the front door and a man who wouldn't take "no" for an answer.
"I told them, 'No, we don't want that — period," Martinez said.
The man wanted Yasmin and Felipe Martinez and their neighbors to let them lay pipeline through the easement outside their backyards. The line would carry gas from various producers around Arlington Airport.
Some families said no, but through the power of eminent domain, the pipeline is now under construction.
Jeana Cole said she doesn't just hear the work under way, she feels it, and so does her elderly mother-in-law.
Cole said the fragile 82-year-old was terrified she was experiencing an earthquake, until she saw the workers.
"It's a vibration of the windows, and the dishes are shaking, and the china cabinets," Cole said.
She captured the noise and construction with a home video camera, along with what she says are ripples in the swimming pool resulting from construction vibrations.
"It's a very uneasy feeling thinking about the foundation in the home and worrying about my pool cracking in the backyard," Cole said.
DFW Midstream, the company building the pipeline, said safety is its top priority, adding that in the "unlikely event our work were to cause damage to a resident's property, the company would accept responsibility."
DFW Midstream also said it has done what it can to minimize the impact on the neighborhood, including holding meetings with residents, and limiting construction work to weekdays.
E-mail chawes@wfaa.com
