'Growth at this rate hurts more than it helps': Bryan County residents share traffic woes

Latrice Williams, Savannah Morning News
·2 min read

Residents who live in the north end of Bryan County say folks commuting to Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America for work are causing extreme delays in their commute time.

Located off Highway 280 in Ellabell, HMGMA, Georgia’s largest economic project to date, has some 5,000 folks working at the megasite daily. The plant is slated to open for production, based on an announcement Monday, in the fourth quarter of this year.

Residents who must share the roadways with the people building the plant voiced their concerns, sharing how long it takes to commute a mile, making short trips longer than usual.

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Here is what residents have to say.

Long commute times

“My husband now has to leave at 5.30 a.m., and he was stuck there for ages,” said Michelle Dolan-King regarding traffic congestion around the entrance to the megasite. “The traffic is ridiculous. It can take him 30 minutes to get to I-16 and it used to take him five minutes.”

Olive Branch Road

“We are trying to come off Olive Branch and take a right,” said Angela Giroux Watson. “No one wants to let anyone in that's taking a left and then all of us trying to go right can't go around all those people waiting. I'm sure others have it worse, but that's our struggle.”

Traffic is backed up on US 280 in Ellabell as vehicles attempt to merge in from Olive Branch Road.
Traffic is backed up on US 280 in Ellabell as vehicles attempt to merge in from Olive Branch Road.

Hyundai workers

“Too much emphasis is given to the workers getting to the Hyundai plant,” said Tim Harley. “They make sure that they get plenty of time to turn in and have no regard for us locals trying to get to our jobs. At least give us the same amount of time to go straight through the light.”

Too much too soon

“It takes me 30 minutes to go 1.5 miles now,” said Jay Womble. “It used to take me two minutes. Growth at this rate hurts more than it helps.”Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Residents say morning traffic is a struggle near the Hyundai megasite