BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A pothole problem on a busy Brevard County road is forcing crews to address drivers’ concerns this summer.

Since 2018, road crews have repaired 1,347 potholes on Babcock Street, more than any other road in the county.

With so many potholes on Babcock Street, you would think it would lead to more business for Callagy Tire in Malabar.

“It’s just a bumpy rough road, real rough,” Callagy Tire owner Mike Callagy said.

Callagy and his father started the auto-shop business in 1979.

“Traffic was very thin,” Callagy said.

He has seen southern Brevard County grow, and with it, traffic on Babcock.

“It has become a main thoroughfare now,” Callagy said.

But driving on Babcock is no easy feat.

“You got to drive like you’re intoxicated to avoid the holes, all the rough areas,” Callagy said. “Weave back and forth.”

“We did a pavement survey, assessment in that area and it’s about 7-1/2 miles of bad road is what it is” Brevard County spokesperson Don Walker said.

That’s why this summer the county is repaving and reconstructing a section of Babcock Road, south of Malabar Road.

But it’s not just the condition of the road. A Florida Department of Transportation study found Babcock Street to have a higher crash rate than the statewide average.

In addition, the street is expected to experience what the state calls “substantial congestion” by 2040, according to FDOT.

A widening project is looking to address those concerns along a 9-mile stretch of Babcock.

“Any road like Babcock that generates a lot of traffic, that road needs to be safe for motorists, whether it’s for an evacuation or whether if it’s just to get to work back and forth every day,” Walker said.

Callagy looks forward to the days where he won’t have worry about dodging potholes anymore.

“{The) commute to work will be a little smoother.”

FDOT also has another Babcock Street improvement project planned, between U.S. Highway 192 and Palm Bay Road to add pedestrian and bicycle safety measures, among other things.