Drivers Say Rocks Are Damaging Cars On I-75

CARTERSVILLE, GA — While being aware of the many road hazards that can come your way while behind the wheel is part of the responsibility of owning and operating a vehicle, there are some things that happen on the road that many of us have little patience for. For drivers who rely on Interstate 75 in Bartow County, they are fed up with the steady stream of rocks damaging their vehicles.

A resident on March 5 shared with followers of the Bartow County Road Conditions Facebook page that her vehicle has been peppered with small rocks during her daily commute from Gordon County to Smyrna (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here).

"I cannot be the only one having trouble with rocks hitting my windshield every single day going north and south at any given Cartersville exit," she said. "I travel from Fairmount to Smyrna everyday for work and every single day it never fails that I get a chip on my windshield. I literally have so many chips on my windshield that it looks like sprinkles from rain."

Her post generated scores of comments from fellow residents who said they, too, are also part of the thousands of cars that travel this same stretch of highway and experience the same issue. One resident noted she's had four chips appear in her windshield in the last two months. All of these chips, she said, occured between the Cass-White and Emerson exits.

"I also have several scratches across the hood of my car from the rocks," she added.

Another follower, who drives each day on I-75 from the S.R. 113/Main Street exit to the Wade Green Road interchange, said it's impossible for anyone to travel through this area and have their vehicle come away unscathed.

"The roads are so bad that all the little gravel on the interstates are coming up and that's probably what's hitting our cars," she added. "Some of them are like hitting large potholes but they just seem to go on forever."

She also said the conditions have caused additional stress on the tires and that in some spots, it "sounds like the road is eating them up."

The Georgia Department of Transportation, which is responsible for maintaining the interstates across the Peach State, isn't sitting by waiting for a major nightmare to occur before it will be propelled to act. The agency actively responded to the residents' concerns, adding it was making every effort to address them. Georgia DOT notes it's intensifying efforts to repair and perform deep patching to the deteriorating spots along this stretch of I-75.

"To deal with the urgent problem of the small rocks on the interstate, Georgia DOT looked for an immediate solution and hired a sweeping contractor who will be working on sweeping the interstate shoulders across northwest Georgia," the agency said this week. "They are now starting their work on I-75."

Spokesperson Mohamed Arafa added these efforts should be seen as temporary measures, as GDOT is hard at work trying to come up with a steadfast solution. The department, which he said has been monitoring the conditions of the interstate, said there is project in the works that would "permanently resolve this issue" between the Glade Road and Cass-White road interchanges. The project calls for resurfacing this stretch of I-75 and should be sent out for bid in the next two to three months.

If things move ahead smoothly, Arafa said GDOT anticipates mobilizing a contractor "immediately" onto the project once the contract is award. Once that happens, he notes GDOT hopes to complete the resurfacing this paving season.

Image via Shutterstock