West Ashley woman says trucks hitting potholes on Savannah Highway cause her home to rattle and walls to crack

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Some things on the roadways just drive you crazy, and for one Charleston resident, it’s a damaged road in West Ashley that is giving one neighbor a headache every morning before she even gets in the car.

Katherine George Dovell’s family has owned their home at the corner of Highway 17 and Nicholson Street since the 1950s. And after remodeling the ceilings and walls, she’s worried they may have to do that all over again because of a nearby pothole.

Dovell says a stretch of Savannah Highway in front of her home is so damaged, that when 18-wheelers drive by, her whole house shakes — and it’s enough to wake her up early every morning.

“The pothole – it’s more than a pothole, it’s a sinkhole, and it rattles my house, it rattles my bed, it rattles the walls. And now I’m getting cracks, along with my neighbors, which is just destroying our home,” she said.

And she’s not kidding about the damage. News 2 visited her home to see what she was talking about and sure enough, we found some cracks.

Dovell said crews have been by to put a band-aid on the problem – sprinkling asphalt down – but she says it’s time for a permanent solution.

“I would like to have this paved so it’s a smooth ride for trucks and vehicles,” Dovell said, adding “It seems like we can get these fixed if we put our mind to it. And it took me calling Channel 2 News to get it started.”

We brought Dovell’s concerns to the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) and an official there said their crews have since reviewed the location and will make a more substantial patching repair in the coming weeks.

SCDOT also said this section of the road is part of a large resurfacing project expected to be completed later this year. We’re told they will have more details to share on a construction timeline after the contract has been issued.