- Heavy flooding from Hurricane Helene caused erosion under the Earl Wetherington Bridge on Gornto Road in Valdosta.
- The city approved $67 million in municipal bonds for water and sewer projects to address infrastructure issues.
- Watch the video to see how this impacts neighbors.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
Gornto Road's closed again.
Instead of a water main break, this time around, it's erosion under the Earl Wetherington Bridge. That's due to heavy flooding last month.
"You can see in the background they're hauling out some deadfalls, dead trees, that were up against the bridge pylons, which can't be good."
John Quarterman has lived in Lowndes County his whole life.
As the Suwanee Riverkeeper for the local WWALS Watershed Coalition, he stays on top of environmental issues in our city.
He says he's seen the need for road and infrastructure updates for years.
"This all started decades ago, when Valdosta was growing quickly and not enough attention was paid to the sewer infrastructure."
The city has been taking action on fixing its roads and infrastructure since Hurricane Helene and the following rainstorms. City leaders have approved $67 million in municipal bonds for water and sewer projects at a recent city council meeting.
As for the bridge on Gornto Road, city engineer Ben O'Down tells me in a statement that they're working as quickly as possible to make necessary repairs. Neighbors are encouraged to utilize alternate arterial routes such as Baytree, Jerry Jones, and I-75 until repairs are completed.
In the meantime, neighbors like Quarterman are happy to be getting new and improved roads.
"I congratulate and commend Valdosta Utilities. I hope this lets Valdosta get ahead of these problems to prevent them."
Neighbors can still patronize businesses near the bridge by taking the suggested alternate routes. In Valdosta, I’m Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC27.
