Interstate ruts creating costly damage

UNION CITY, Ga. — At least nine drivers say they got flat tires on an on-ramp to Interstate 85 south due to major damage on some parts of the busy road.
 
Gary Bing said as his daughter was driving, both right tires suddenly popped.
 
"All total, a lot of damage. Five-hundred dollars in damage to her vehicle," Bing said.
 
The impact from her car hitting the rut was so hard, the tail lights popped out.
 
"She had two flat tires as she was exiting, and then people walked up to her saying they had flat tires as well," Bing said.
 
Channel 2's Craig Lucie traced the driver's path turning off Jonesboro Road to get onto I-85 southbound.
 
He said they passed several potholes (or possibly ruts) on the entrance to the interstate, but the one that damaged so many cars is at least 15 feet long and several inches deep.
 
"Were all of these cars lined up with flat tires?" Lucie asked Bing.  "Yes! Basically they were all pulled over on the side with flat tires. Every single one of them," Bing replied.
 
Lucie also talked to Joe Basilone on the phone. He said his son's car has a few hundred dollars' worth of damage too.
 
"Within an hour there were nine cars. The officer told me that the Union City Police Department had called two weeks prior because of all the incidents they were having and they were ignored," explained Basilone.
 
Channel 2 Action News contacted the Georgia Department of Transportation, and they have been working non-stop to fix the road damage after the winter storms. A GDOT spokeswoman told us late Monday afternoon that they were working to see where this repair job was on their schedule so they could fix as soon as possible.
 
In the meantime, GDOT is urging drivers to be on the look-out due to the amount of damage the roads suffered during the winter storms.

WSBTV