Richmond Hill Police Chief Mitch Shores told city council Tuesday night the good news was that there hadn’t been any fatal crashes on I-95 since May 9, when his department stepped up patrol efforts on the busy interstate.

“We’ve been out there a little over a month and the biggest positive thing is there haven’t been any fatalities,” Shores said. “But the issue is the speed out there.” Shores said his department has written approximately 1,000 tickets in the last month, estimating the slowest drivers getting stopped are doing more than 80 mph. He added that “a number of people have gone to jail,” for DUI or not having a license or insurance.

 The most recent traffic statistics on the Georgia DOT website said in 2020 an average of more than 51,000 cars a day traveled on I-95 in Bryan County. That was during the pandemic, when traffic slowed. In 2017, the average daily traffic count on that stretch of interstate was 58,900 cars per day.

Traffic on I-95 is particularly heavy in the summer, and recent incident reports from both RHPD and the Bryan County Sheriff ’s Office have routinely included narratives of traffic stops in which drivers exceed 100 mph and are either unlicensed, uninsured, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or sometimes all of the above.

Mayor Russ Carpenter said the goal behind the stepped up enforcement on I-95 is “to slow people down,” he said. “It sounds like it’s working.” In other business:

• Council approved spending $357,794 on repairs and upgrades to City Hall. The contractors are Parker Properties, LLC and Brookshire Design.

• Announced the city’s Independence Day celebration will be held Saturday, July 2 at J.F. Gregory Park beginning at 4:30 p.m. There will be performances by The Boondockers and Swingin’ Medallions, and fireworks at sundown. Carpenter said the event is the second most attended, behind the Seafood Festival.

More information is available on the city’s website and social media.