Who’s patching the potholes near the Chatham Parkway bridge? We’re searching for answers

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - WTOC is on “Pothole Patrol” after construction crews fixed the Chatham Parkway bridge two months ago, but potholes remain on both sides of the freshly paved bridge.

17,000 people drive over the bridge every day, bracing for impact after the smooth drive over it.

WTOC reached out to the Georgia Department of Transportation initially, whose contractors fixed and raised the bridge after it was struck by an excavator that required damaged-beam replacement, deck pouring, and barrier wall restoration.

The crews officially cleared the construction site about two months ago, opening four lanes and laying down fresh paint.

GDOT said because of the pothole’s location, it’s not under their jurisdiction. Either the local city or county has to handle it.

WTOC then reached out to the City of Savannah, which then said the potholes near the traffic light getting onto I-16 westbound are not within their boundary map.

WTOC also reached out to the City of Garden City, which shared a similar message that it was not under their jurisdiction, therefore not their responsibility.

After notifying GDOT about the City of Garden City’s statement, Garden City officials told WTOC that they will send an engineer back out to the site to determine if it is theirs or not.

Chatham County officials told WTOC on Monday, September 8, that this area also isn’t under their responsibilities.

Until then, people, like Duncan Niven, who live and work nearby, have to deal with it.

“A whole side that is super rough and I drive a lower car and I hear it almost every single time, like, something scraping and I try to drive around it, but the problem is – it’s everywhere," he said.

Niven works at Larry’s Giant Subs as the Head Assistant Manager.

He said he, his coworkers, and patrons talk about the leftover potholes at least once a week. He said people with older car models are at risk the most.

“You’re going to drive over [them] one day and they’re just going to hear something break,” he said. “I know at least two people here that have older cars where they have trouble finding a mechanic that fixes their cars because they’re older, so it needs to get fixed; otherwise, it’s just going to become more and more of a problem.”

Niven said he understood why the state and local entities are going back and forth about whose job it is to pave the roadways, because of the unique location right off the bridge, though.

The bridge construction also impacted businesses along Chatham Parkway over the last year, as well, so Niven hopes a solution is found soon so everyone working and living nearby can go back to normal, officially.