A News 3 ride along: I-16 commuter woes

POOLER, Ga. (WSAV) – One of the biggest concerns brought to News 3 regularly is excessive commuter traffic.

With an influx of new residents, the cities and towns around Savannah are growing.

However, it’s more like outgrowing when it comes to the roadways.

I-16 is one of the major roadways in and out of Savannah from places like Pooler, Effingham County or Bryan County.

Viewers say delays caused by the ongoing construction are one of the major pain points in their commute. Though, when we asked about their rush hour woes, they had no shortage of other issues.

“Pooler grew too fast and doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle it,” one Facebook user said.

“Pooler’s population when we moved here was just over 6,000. Now, it’s over 38,000 but on the same roads. Do the math,” another said.

“Should be 7 or 8 minutes home. Now 45 minutes to hour,” a third commented.

“It was not like this when we first moved here 12 years ago…Pooler is just exploding,” said WSAV producer Kim Blake.

News 3 traveled with Blake on her morning commute to get a firsthand look at the traffic woes.

But there are also the evenings.

Some say it’s the same coming home or even worse.

Possible solutions?

“I wish we had something like – was it the Truman? – where you can just get on here and it’ll dump you into downtown Savannah. That’s what we need,” Blake offered.