Savannah’s bridge has height restrictions for mega ships. Could tunnels replace it?
What would Savannah’s historic riverfront and downtown look like if its iconic bridge no longer was one of the most recognizable structures in the city’s skyline?
Georgia Department of Transportation in partnership with the Ga. Ports Authority is considering that monumental undertaking and wants to share possible future replacement ideas for Savannah’s Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge at an upcoming public session on May 20 at 6 p.m. at the Coastal Georgia Center located at 305 Fahm Street in Savannah .
They’re seeking a permanent solution to height restrictions of the existing bridge. Those restrictions prevent the newer, taller container ships from passing beneath the structure.
As of 2022, the Port of Savannah was ranked 13th in the U.S. with 53.6 million short tons of total trade. The top three U.S. ports are Houston, South Louisiana and Corpus Christi. Savannah is the third largest east coast port after New York/New Jersey’s Port Newark and the Port of Virginia according to data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Status of the Talmadge today
The Savannah bridge is expected to undergo maintenance next year to replace existing bearings, joints and replace cables with shorter ones that may raise the bridge an additional 20 feet.
In an email response Ga. DOT spokesperson Jill Nagel wrote, the “goal is to gain as much vertical clearance as possible. The final number (bridge height) is still to be determined.”
Currently the bridge has 185 feet of clearance. The bridge has been listed as in ‘satisfactory condition’ according to the most recent Ga. DOT inspection.
The study brings six ideas up for discussion and consideration. There is no timeline or funding for a fix to the current bridge’s height other than preliminary environmental studies and conceptual engineering.
The team is only advancing two of the ideas to further develop conceptually and, according to Nagel, there is a “no-build” option.
Concept one: Build a brand new bridge.
Concept two: Build two tunnels under the Savannah River and remove the bridge.
Savannah ports continue to grow
The deck of the 30-year old plus Savannah bridge can handle tens of thousands of vehicles a day.
What travels underneath on the river’s surface carries substantially more.
In 2023 the Port of Savannah handled a total of 4.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) according to the Georgia Ports Authority. TEUs describe the capacity of container ships.
A 2020 UGA economic impact study of Georgia’s deepwater ports (Savannah and Brunswick) are 10 percent of Georgia’s total employment, eight percent of Georgia’s total gross domestic product and six percent of Georgia’s total personal income.
The ports authority master plan expects to invest $4.2 billion in the next 10 years to expand cargo handling capabilities to support expected future supply chain requirements and need to make sure the ever-expanding container ships can make it to port.
Ships are getting bigger
Container ships are getting bigger and need more vertical space to travel and with Savannah’s bridge topping at 185 feet tall, there is concern that the booming days of commerce at Savannah’s ports may get detoured.
The largest ship to arrive at the Port of Savannah, the CMA CGM Marco Polo, arrived on May 26, 2021 at 16,000 twenty-foot TEUs. That left a few feet of clearance after officials monitored tide levels in order to allow it to squeak under the Savannah bridge. That vessel is considered commonplace and the ships continue to grow in size as ever-larger ships that can handle 23,000 TEUs and beyond as the benefits of scale increase fuel efficiency and decrease operating costs.
Considering a pair of options
There are two paths forward that have been advanced to the concept development phase leaving four ideas out of future consideration. Those two are digging a tunnel and building a new bridge. Both carry the same level of disruption and environmental risk:
Dig tunnels
Moderate impact to vehicular or vessel traffic during construction.
Some impacts to environmental resources.
Build a new bridge – Same Location
Moderate impacts to vehicular or vessel traffic during construction.
Some impacts to environmental resources.
Categories 3-6 (with reasons not to advance)
Build a new bridge in a new place – Truman Parkway Extension
Significant congestion and mobility delays.
Significant environmental and community impacts.
Remove bridge and re-route US 17 traffic
Significant impact to Savannah to South Carolina and South Carolina to I-16 connectivity.
Significant environmental and community impacts.
Modify existing bridge to 230’
(to required height for ship access)
Significant impacts to roadway traffic, construction complexity, operations and maintenance, and future-proofing objectives.
Development of downriver port facilities
Increased truck traffic.
Significant environmental and community impacts.
