The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is moving forward with two alternatives for the Talmadge bridge project: A new tunnel that would run underneath the Savannah River or a completely new bridge with a higher elevation.
Both would result in the demolition of the current bridge.
GDOT said the Talmadge Bridge's current height is limiting the number of ships that can pass through Savannah's port.
"When the larger ships come through, there’s only a few feet below the surface that the ship is traveling, and it is also very close. The antennas get pretty close to touching the bottom of the bridge," said Kyle Collins, GDOT communications and marketing strategist in a statement.
Collins said the limitations are hurting Savannah's economy.
"Any loss of a ship coming through with them, having to take containers off a large ship now, which I think they're having to do, is obviously some loss of revenue, some loss of productivity in that supply chain," Collins said.
GDOT hosted a public meeting at Georgia Coastal Center Monday night to hear feedback from people.
"It's their neighborhood, people are the environment," Jill Nagel, GDOT district communications officer.
GDOT originally had seven different options related to the bridge but narrowed it down to two. Some people in attendance Monday complained that the public should be open to hearing about all of them.
"I think it's really important that there's due consideration of all the options that are available," said Savannah resident Carmen Bergman.
Bergman also said she wished she had the opportunity to be involved sooner.
"The public comment period ends June 6, and I found out about this hearing a day ago," Bergman said.
The department does have a short-term project in place. GDOT said it will replace and shorten all the bridge's current cables to raise its' height; that will start in 2025.
------------------------------------------
Source: WJCL.com, WSAV.com
