A state representative said, 'It's time to move forward on a bridge that reminds us of segregation and not solidarity and a name that connects to hate and not hope.' It is ultimately up to the Georgia state government to confirm the passed resolution. In September 2017, Savannah City Council passed a resolution to rename the bridge the 'Savannah Bridge'. However, renaming the bridge is decided at the state level by the legislature, where there is considerably more sympathy for Talmadge. He also struck out against opposing centers of power, using martial law to dismiss state boards that opposed his measures as well as arrest both strikers and strikebreakers alike, actions which led to him both being accused of being a dictator as well as being a friend of the 'common man.' Talmadge's legacy has caused some in Savannah to oppose letting him have the prominent honor of the bridge named for him, including Savannah's City Council.

Talmadge was an old-school conservative Southern Democrat, who pursued then-popular and openly racist objectives such as restoring the white primary and enforcing segregation of the state universities. After public forums on the issue, the original name was restored for the new structure. The replacement bridge was originally suggested to be named for the Native American Creek leader Tomochichi, an important figure in Savannah's founding in 1733. The structure is dedicated to Eugene Talmadge, who served as the Democratic Governor of Georgia in 1933-–43. Piers (vertical supports) of the original 1953 bridge still stand and can be seen in this.

Shipping under the Talmadge Memorial Bridge.

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