Take a drive along I-20 between Augusta and Grovetown and you might notice something out of place - the sound barriers.

The concrete walls are breaking loose from their steel restraints and falling down.

“It's a pretty big issue,” says Michael Keene of the Georgia Department of Transportation. “On the westbound side we've had a lot of panels fall. I don't know what the number is, but it's a fairly significant amount.”

Keene says the panels installed in January have been falling down since March. Even the replacement walls have tumbled down and still no one knows why.

“The designer that designed the steel says that his stuff is good,” said Keene. “The panel man says he did everything according to and the handlers said they've done everything. So we don't know if it was a combination of things or a bad batch of concrete.”

The problem is that the 9,000 pound concrete slabs can't support their own massive weight, which results in them sheering off at the corners; leaving behind a mess of shattered concrete and support bolts.

At nearly $5,000 a panel, it's a costly problem that keeps adding up as more panels come down.

“That comes out of the contractor’s budget, said Keene. “That is totally his cost. The DOT and the taxpayers don't pay any of that.”

The DOT says there's no danger to the public. They say the way the steel is designed there's no risk of it crashing onto the roads.