IRWIN COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) — A person living on a dirt road in Irwin County said the road floods every time it rains, creating conditions that trap cars, wash out sections of the road, and could potentially block first responders from reaching homes.

Resident describes years of flooding

The resident chose not to be identified due to his line of work. He said fish and alligators have been found on Palm Road in Ocilla after heavy rain and that cars have gotten stuck. The resident said drainage pipes along the road are stopped up, preventing water on one side of the road from reaching the other side.

The resident said commissioners have been told about the drainage pipe problem and have responded by saying they would get someone to address it, but said no one has fixed the issue. The resident said the problem affects other roads in the county as well.

The resident said a new road superintendent is expected to start and said they hope that will help, but said they do not know if it will.

The resident said cars cannot drive down Palm Road when it’s flooded. The resident said a field road is used instead, running from a family member’s house around to another driveway on the family farm, to avoid the dirt road.

The resident said after it rains, the road is slick enough that people coming off Five Bridge Road have driven into the ditch. The resident said they once pulled someone out of the ditch after the driver moved over to let another car pass and slid into the ditch.

The resident said no law enforcement or EMS vehicle would be able to get down the road under those conditions. The resident said this has not yet happened, but said a neighbor in his 70s had washouts on each side of his driveway recently that would have prevented anyone from reaching him.

The resident said photos of the flooding go back to 2022.

Road washed out after hurricane, resident says

The resident said Palm Road washed out completely after the last hurricane, leaving stumps exposed in the roadway that required a four-wheel-drive vehicle to navigate around them. The resident said the county hired an outside contractor, who dug waterways and ditches, added dirt to the road, and rebuilt it, but said the contractor did not fix the drainage pipes. The resident said the work has since washed away and said the road gets worse every time it rains.

The resident said they moved to the area about four or five years ago and said about 10 to 12 people live on Palm Road. The resident said the road is used as a cut-through between Highway 129 and Five Bridge Road to Tifton, including by people headed to church.

The resident said they have reached out to the road department and county commissioners, but the issue remains unresolved.

County chairman responds

Vince Thompson, chairman of the Irwin County Commissioners, provided the following statement:

“I spoke with Ernest Duffy, our interim road superintendent. The county has been out on Palm Road doing work on September 9th. They opened drains and opened the ditches to direct the water to a larger pipe. Until we can get permission to go on the adjacent private property to lower the water, there is not much more we can do. The beaver population is at all time high. It is affecting all of the county roads. It requires constant clearing of wood and mud from the drainage pipes. Whether it’s the nearly 300 miles of dirt roads or 150 miles of paved, all of the roads are being damaged by beavers obstructing the water flow. Palm Road is now open and we are monitoring it.”

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