HANCOCK COUNTY, Ga. — This section of Island Creek Drive near Foxglove Drive in Hancock County was covered in water after heavy rainfall flooded the pipe. There was so much water that the shoulder of the road washed away.
Julia Thomas has lived in this area for 20 years and says this is kind of flooding normal.
"It’s been going on for several years. They’re finally starting to get a handle on it. I just think they maybe can’t handle everything that Mother Nature has thrown at them," Thomas said.
Thomas said people are worried because the same road near Foxglove Drive collapsed in 2019.
"The road just completely collapsed. There were pictures of that and then they came back in and they re-did it, so I mean this has happened over the last I don't know maybe four, five years it's happened multiple times were there's been an issue in this area that they've had to come and address," Thomas said.
Borderick Foster is the Hancock County Clerk Road Administrator. He said Island Creek Drive is at the top of his list to find a solution.
"In the last two years when we’ve had heavy rain, the shoulder washed away so I’m looking at different ways to prepare for it," Foster said.
The county manager said they installed these culverts to help keep water off the road, but the structure of the neighborhood makes it difficult.
"If it washes out in certain areas they are trapped, but then again there are alternatives some of them with dirt roads," Foster said.
Thomas said for her, those roads aren’t an option.
"Those roads especially with the rains, there are major potholes I mean you’re definitely going to get stuck. You’d have to have a four-by-four or some sort of truck and then in that case you could still have difficulty or get out there on those roads," Thomas said.
Foster wants to reassure residents he’s working on a solution.
"Rest assured even though we can’t control Mother Nature, we’re in this battle together and I’m committed to doing whatever it takes to keep them safe and improve the roadways," Foster said.
Foster said they'll look at today's damage and make a plan to replace the shoulder again. They've been working with consultants to check the pipes yearly. That includes replacing and lining culverts in the area for the past ten years.