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This road in south Bibb is driving some people crazy, but a fix is in the works

Some problems around the Adairs property got worse over the years. Now, it's driving them crazy.

MACON, Bibb County — If you live or drive around South Bibb, you might understand some of the Adair's concerns.

The family moved into their home on Holly Place in 2000; these days, their grand kids drop in.

But there's some problems around their property that got worse over the years. Now, it's driving them crazy.

"This road need to be paved!" Margie Adair exclaimed.

Adair said she and her family love the South Bibb home they've had for 24 years, but they're not fond of some of the problems around their property.

She said the road has had problems since her family moved in, and it's only getting worse.

She's kept a record of her grievances with the road in a notebook.

In front of the Adair's home, you'll see a few deep potholes varying in length. The largest one was filled with concrete after Margie flagged a utility worker earlier this year.

But, there's still a few that aren't fixed. 

As they enter and exit the driveway, the Adair's avoid the rougher edges of the street.

Bad weather, she added, doesn't help.

Next to their home is a ditch that overflows when it rains, Adair explained.

Behind their home in the backyard is a three-way intersection where runoff water drains.

"Water comes down from Porter Elementary School down between my house and it overflows right here," she pointed out.

Adair said she thinks the issue is a result of poor drainage. She said she's seen how the parking lot around the school gets so full that it comes down inside her fence towards her backyard.

It got so bad over time, a few years ago Adair said she "lost the oak tree and lost my cherry tree because it just rotted from so much water."

She and her family made some discoveries that were both bad and good.

The bad includes a three-way trench where the water flows through her yard.

The good included some rocks in the back that were buried under the soil. After their land eroded a bit from the overflowing water, Adair said they noticed the rocks "dug them up, and put them back on top of the ground."

She said "those line of bricks were buried under the water for 24 years."

According to her handwritten record of grievances, Adair's gone back and forth trying find some solution to the road issue in front of her home and the drainage issue around her property.

However, when she seeks answers, she said she usually doesn't get much of a response.

We reached out to Macon-Bibb Public Works about the Adair's concerns.

Spokesperson Chris Floore said there were no records of any requests for the Adair's property, but said they assessed the area and made a major pothole patch on Oct. 29.

When we brought the issues forth to the Macon Water Authority, President & Executive Director Ron Shipman said in a statement: 

"MWA (we) responded to a service request for this address on February 12, 2024... investigated to find that the issue was coming from the school behind her property and outside of the right-of-way... this was considered a private property matter and an issue between her and the school system.”

They continued: “The land contour at the Porter Elementary School is 430 feet and at the ditch behind her house that runs beside her property to the cross-drain underneath Holly Place’s elevation is 422 feet. The issue is that the back parking area of the school needs to be regraded to catch the surface water in the drains on the school property and carry it out to School Road to the public system. Stormwater Management talked with the staff of the Board of Education at that time to make them aware of the complaint and the issue.”

Bibb County School District's Chief Communications Officer Stephanie Hartley told us in a statement: "The Bibb County School District has not been contacted by property owners concerning a drainage issue, but now that our district is aware of the concerns we will address them. District staff will work with our civil engineer and MWA for assistance in determining the issues and potential resolutions. If the issue results from drainage of school property, BCSD will make appropriate modifications to resolve the issues."

Floore said if you have a pothole issue you can report the issue on their website or the free mobile app so crews can quickly respond.

Are any Central Georgia roads driving you crazy? Email us at news@13wmaz.com with your concerns.

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