Tire Trash Piles Up On Ga. Highways

Budget cutbacks at the Georgia Department of Transportation has forced the agency to scale back road litter removal.

After receiving complaints from motorists, Channel 2 Action News reporter Tom Regan traveled on Interstate 75 in Cobb, Cherokee and Bartow counties and observed mile after mile of tire trash from tractor-trailer rigs lining the the roadside. He found several lost tire re-treads larger that a 6-foot tall man.

“Its unsightly, unsightly and it’s not safe,” said motorist Ed Burke. Burke and other drivers spoke to Regan at a gas station along I-75.

“We came up from Florida," said Scott Payne of Nashville. "It doesn’t seem to be a problem there, but here in Georgia, it seems to be a problem.”

Regan contacted the Department of Transportation for comment. Spokesman Crystal Paulk-Buchanan said litter removal is less of a priority with the state’s ongoing budget crisis.

She said last week, Gov. Sonny Perdue asked the agency to cut another 4 percent from its budget. She said the total budget cuts could reach 20 percent. The DOT has also been hurt by reduced gasoline taxes.

“We’re being asked to make cuts systematically and that effects our ability to go and pick up trash,” said Paulk-Buchanan. "However, the DOT will quickly remove any large debris that poses an immediate danger to drivers -- mattresses, couches, ladders, things that can cause a safety hazard on the highway.”

Tread loss is a more common problem for trucks during the hot summer months.

The DOT asked drivers to call 511 to report dangerous debris on the interstate.