Douglas County

Massive holes have opened up along I-20 -- and it’s not the only place it’s happening

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — Drivers are concerned after what appears to be a massive hole has opened up along Interstate 20 in Douglas County.

Channel 2’s Justin Wilfon contacted the Georgia Department of Transportation, and they told him what is happening is called a slope failure. Basically, all the rain has washed away the slope on the side of the interstate.

It's happening on Douglas Boulevard, which runs along I-20.

Now it appears that a couple of holes have formed that could be making their way underneath the shoulder of the highway.

GDOT said it isn’t the only place this is happening.

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“It’s definitely doubled up in size,” driver Don O’Sheilds said.

O’Sheilds told Wilfon he first spotted the hole about a month ago.

“It’s progressively gotten worse. Visible water coming through there,” O’Sheilds said.

O’Sheilds believes a couple of holes in the slope wall might be working their way underneath the shoulder of the eastbound lanes. He believes it’s a safety concern for drivers.

“I would hate to wake up one morning knowing I knew about that, and then to find out on the news something terrible happened and I didn’t do anything about it,” O’Sheilds said.

So he called GDOT.

The department told Wilfon similar cases are happening along several Atlanta highways because of the rain.

In a statement, a GDOT spokesperson said, “We are prioritizing them based on severity and need dry weather to do the bulk of the work.”

But GDOT said the erosion along I-20 is on its to-do list.

Wilfon asked GDOT if it would consider lane closures around these slope failures if they get bad enough. It said yes.