Savannah sits on a bluff above the Savannah River near the Atlantic, and its historic downtown is laid out around a grid of shaded squares that forces traffic to slow and circle. I-16 ends downtown after running east from Macon, and I-95 passes west of the city near Pooler and Richmond Hill. I-516 forms a partial loop through the west and south sides, and the Truman Parkway runs south from downtown toward the Southside. Abercorn Street is the main north-south commercial artery, US 80 heads east to the islands and Tybee, and the Talmadge Bridge carries US 17 high over the river into South Carolina.
Abercorn Street through the Southside is the busiest surface road in the city, a long run of signals and shopping center entrances that backs up every rush hour. I-16, I-95 and the roads around Garden City carry a constant stream of container trucks from one of the busiest ports on the East Coast, and those trucks leave debris and broken pavement behind. US 80 to Tybee crawls on summer weekends. Downtown, one-way streets and the squares slow everything down, and River Street's ballast-stone cobbles are tough on tires and suspensions.
Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport sits northwest of the city near Pooler, with lots that are easy for a mechanic to reach. Hunter Army Airfield fills a large area on the south side, and Fort Stewart sits southwest in Hinesville, so military commuters are part of every rush hour. Chatham Area Transit buses and the free downtown shuttle help visitors and students, but most households depend on cars. Many neighborhoods outside downtown were built for the car, with driveways and carports, which makes them easy places for a mechanic to work, while the historic core takes a little more planning around parking, tour trolleys and narrow lanes.