By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
That white stuff on 144 is sand, not coal ash
Roadwork sign

That white substance being put down by contractors as part of the Highway 144 widening project doesn't contain coal ash, according to Georgia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jill Nagel.

It's just sand, Nagel said. Really white sand. 

A resident called Thursday to report a white powdery substance was being spread on the road, which prompted a call to DOT and Nagel, who contacted the company doing the work. 

"He said it was the prettiest  white sand he'd ever seen, like you would put in a kid's sandbox" Nagel said, adding the sand had come from a Rayonier borrow pit possibly in Bryan County.

Coal ash, or what's left after coal is burned at power plants, is considered a hazardous waste but has been used  road construction around the U.S. for years, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website still says there are beneficial uses for the product. A link is provided below with more information.

It's unclear if there are any coal ash roads built in Bryan County.

Effingham County reportedly agreed to spend more than $1.42 million last year to fix nearly 50 miles of "ash roads" -- dirt roads covered with ash in 2001 -- that were destroyed by Winter Storm Grayson .in January 2018. 

See this link: Beneficial use of coal ash.


Sign up for our E-Newsletters