Georgia · Savannah, Chatham County · Road Closure
Waters Avenue Closed Between 56th Street and Delesseps Avenue in Savannah, GA, for Suspicious Package Investigation
The Savannah Police Department said a section of Waters Avenue was shut down Tuesday morning, from 56th Street to Delesseps Avenue, while officers investigated a suspicious package in that area. Police asked drivers to stay away from the area and use another route.
Key facts
- What
- A section of Waters Avenue in Savannah was shut down Tuesday morning
- Where
- Waters Avenue from 56th Street to Delesseps Avenue, Savannah, Chatham County
- Reason given
- Officers investigating a suspicious package in that area
- Agency
- Savannah Police Department
- Status
- Closed, as reported at 10:33 a.m. ET Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026
- What police asked
- Drivers to stay away from the area and use another route
- Expected reopening
- Not given
- Reported by
- WTOC
Which part of Waters Avenue was closed?
Waters Avenue in Savannah was shut down from 56th Street to Delesseps Avenue, the Savannah Police Department said Tuesday morning, WTOC reported.
Officers were investigating a suspicious package in that area, police said. Police asked drivers to stay away and use another route.
The closure was reported at 10:33 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. No reopening time was given with it.
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Where does the closed section sit in Savannah?
The City of Savannah puts the limits of its DeLesseps Avenue Improvements project along that street from Waters Avenue east to Skidaway Road, in the city’s published project page.
How many blocks the closure spans, and which intersections are barricaded.
Who has the authority to close a city street in Georgia?
Georgia law hands that power to the city. Under O.C.G.A. § 32-4-92(a)(7), a municipality may regulate and control the use of public roads on its municipal street system, and on the stretches of a county road system that run inside the city limits.
The same section adds that a city may take any action necessary or incidental to running that street system, and says the title is to be read liberally toward that end. The provision was last amended by the General Assembly in 2002 and stands in the 2025 Code of Georgia.
What the statute does not do is set a clock. It fixes no deadline for reopening a road and no notice requirement before closing one.
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How does someone get a Savannah police report?
Reports written by the agency holding this scene come from the Savannah Police Department Records Unit, on the second floor of the Northwest Precinct at 602 East Lathrop Avenue. It is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the department says on its police reports and open records page.
Requests can be made in person at that address, by phone at 912-651-3617, by fax at 912-525-1748, or by email to [email protected]. Requests emailed in are answered by email unless the requester asks otherwise, and processing can take up to three business days.
Reports can also be requested by mail, with a self-addressed stamped envelope, from the Savannah Police Department Records Unit, PO Box 8032, Savannah GA 31412. Mark Massey, the Clerk of Council, is the open records officer for the City of Savannah and for the police department, and Records Unit staff are his designees. Charges follow the Georgia Open Records Act.
Have other Savannah-area roads closed this month?
Chatham County has had two other road closures in recent days, both of a different character. The Bull Street ramp down to River Street closed Monday for renovation work at the Thomas Gamble Building, a scheduled shutdown the city announced three days in advance with a stated reopening date.
The other was unplanned. Jimmy DeLoach Parkway was shut in Pooler after steel came off a tractor-trailer, and officials had no estimate for how long it would take to clear.
More Savannah and Chatham County coverage sits on the Chatham County page.
What we don’t know yet
- What the suspicious package is, or what it looks like.
- Who reported it, and what time it was found.
- Which units responded, and whether any specialist team was called.
- Whether anyone was moved out of a home or a business nearby.
- Whether any building, business or school in the area is affected.
- Whether anyone was hurt.
- How long the closure will last, and when Waters Avenue will reopen.
- Whether the investigation has concluded and an all clear has been given.
- How many blocks the closed stretch covers, and which cross streets are barricaded.
Frequently asked questions
Which part of Waters Avenue was closed on Aug. 25, 2026?
Savannah police said Waters Avenue was shut down from 56th Street to Delesseps Avenue. The closure was reported at 10:33 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026.
Why did Savannah police close that section of Waters Avenue?
Police said officers were investigating a suspicious package in that area. No other reason was given.
What did Savannah police ask drivers to do on the morning of Aug. 25, 2026?
Police asked drivers to stay away from the area and use another route.
Which agency closed Waters Avenue?
The Savannah Police Department.
When was Waters Avenue expected to reopen?
No reopening time was given when the closure was announced on the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026.
How can someone get a copy of a Savannah Police Department report?
The Savannah Police Department Records Unit sits on the second floor of the Northwest Precinct at 602 East Lathrop Avenue and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Requests can be made in person, by phone at 912-651-3617, by fax at 912-525-1748 or by email to [email protected], and can take up to three business days.
Sources
- WTOC — Portion of Waters Avenue shut down for suspicious package investigation, by Summer Swanson, Aug. 25, 2026.
- Justia — O.C.G.A. § 32-4-92, Powers (municipal street systems), 2025 Code of Georgia; amended by 2002 Ga. Laws 917, § 3, eff. July 1, 2002.
- Savannah Police Department — Police Reports / Open Records, Records Unit procedures, hours and contact details.
- City of Savannah — DeLesseps Avenue Improvements, Transportation Services, project limits from Waters Avenue to Skidaway Road.
Compiled by The Local Alert Georgia Staff from the Savannah Police Department statement reported by WTOC, and from the public records and statute linked above. Nobody has been accused of anything in connection with this closure. The Local Alert is not a road authority and does not direct traffic. Corrections and removal requests: see our corrections policy.
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Other incidents we are tracking across the state this week.
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Reported and fact-checked as of .
Every source linked on this page was opened and verified at that time. This report reflects what was known and confirmed at that moment and is not updated automatically as the story develops.
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