The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Weekend quake destabilizes parts of Hutchinson Island
Damage spurs fear Westin garage’s structure may fail.
A weekend earthquake has rendered parts of Hutchinson Island unstable, including the ferry dock and Westin parking garage, by causing land to settle near the banks of the Savannah River.
The settling began Saturday morning following a 3.9 magnitude earthquake, according to an email the Savannah Morning News obtained from Savannah City Manager Jay Melder, which he sent to a number of county and city employees last weekend.
“As you are aware, we have been experiencing significant settling and failure of the Plaza near the Ferry Land- ing between the Westin and the Convention Center in the County’s ROW (right of way) since Saturday morning,” reads Melder’s email, addressed to County Manager Lee Smith.
The damage is extensive enough to prompt fears about total structural fail- ure of the Westin Hotel parking garage and Bryan Square, which is adjacent to the garage and Savannah Convention Center.
Hutchinson Island is within Chatham County, but according to Melder’s email, the county refused to take up the issue until Tuesday morning, so the city began moving forward with temporary safety precautions last weekend, according to the email.
“As this is County ROW, the City will pass off leadfor the stabilization and repair of the ROW to the County on Tuesday morning,” Melder’s email reads. “We will coordi- nate with you on the transfer of responsibility for the stabilization plan that we instigated to ensure the materi- als would be on site without further delay.”
The damage compromises the public access dock, which is owned and maintained by the city and is used by Chatham Area Transit for the ferry services between River Street and Hutchin- son Island.
Saturday’s earthquake was about 70 miles from Hutchin- son Island, just east of Stillmore, in Candler County, but people from Hilton Head to Columbia, South Carolina, reported feeling the tremors, according to a report from WPDE.
The damage comes amid millions of dollars in expansion and developments on Hutchinson Island, where work to expand the convention center and build a new hotel, marina and luxury housing has been in the works for decades.
Melder’s email said temporary work could begin as early as this week, with the city procuring sheet piles to temporarily stabilize the damaged sites, but the permanent damage will take further surveying and work to address.
On Tue s day morning, county spokesperson Catherine Glasby told the Savannah Morning News that staff was working on the issue.
“We have a team assessing it now,” her email said. “I hope to have more info in the next 24 hours.”