MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - Sitting between Walnut Creek Road and Interstate 40 is a beat up piece of pavement that folks in Memphis like to call Germantown Parkway. If you are a regular commuter of this road, you know it's the James Bond martini of parkways. One ride, and you become shaken, not stirred. Just ask those who ride it.
"There could be some work done on the road," says Joe Wegelin who uses Germantown Parkway every day. "They could be improved a bit. I drive from Downtown Memphis to Germantown every day for work. It definitely makes the ride a little bumpier. It could be a little more enjoyable."
There are a lot of urban cowboys who saddle up on this bucking bronco of Parkways every day. They don't hold back their feelings. "There are a lot of roads like this around Memphis," says Hal Stansbury. "I would not say it's in great shape."
No, it's not in great shape. You can see where the city of Memphis has done repairs, filling in potholes or the cracks that show up in any road that's driven by as many people as Germantown Parkway.
"Number one is the traffic," says Stansbury. "When you add the fact road conditions aren't that great it makes for more of a nightmare ride."
Memphis City Public Works crews will head out to see what repair work they can do to make things better. We told them they had their work cut out for them.
Here's the confusing part. The City of Memphis only repairs road problems. The Tennessee Highway Department is the organization that is in charge of repaving the road. There are no plans for them to do any work on Germantown Parkway this year.
Motor around on the Parkway, and you'll understand why the guy who invented those little inflatable donuts some people sit on is popular with the drivers here. I can tell if a road is rough by doing the Mike Matthews jiggle test. If I go over a bump and I'm still jiggling a few seconds afterwards, it's bad.
