Most of Columbia County’s road construction projects should be completed by their expected finish date, except for one.
According to Kyle Titus, Columbia County Director of Engineering Services, the Flowing Wells Road project is the only one that has encountered delays.
Here’s an update of a few Columbia County road projects with some projected lane closures.
Furys Ferry Road
Due to the ongoing roadway-widening project for Furys Ferry Road, there will be a temporary lane closure from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Friday, Oct. 7. According to a Columbia County news release, the lane closure will be in the northbound, right through lane at the intersection with Evans to Locks Road.
Crews are currently working on utility relocations which includes water lines, gas, power and fiber optic lines, said Titus.
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“They probably have another six months or so before they’re buttoned up with that and ready to move on with the heavy road construction,” Titus said.
The Furys Ferry Road project is a four-year project. Construction is expected to continue through 2025 and will expand Furys Ferry Road to four lanes between Evans to Locks and Hardy McManus roads.
Lewiston Road
Several lane closures are ongoing on Lewiston Road due to a widening project, according to an email from Columbia County Public Information Officer Cassidy Harris.
The southbound right lane on Lewiston Road from William Few Parkway to the Interstate 20 off-ramp will be closed through Monday, Oct. 31 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The right lane, westbound I-20 exit ramp to Lewiston Road, will be closed for several months, leaving one lane open to Lewiston Road, said Harris.
There is currently a lane closure on the eastbound I-20 exit ramp to Lewiston Road until Monday, Oct. 31 – one lane will be open to Lewiston Road. There is also a lane closure on the eastbound I-20 on-ramp to Augusta until Monday, Oct. 31. One lane will be open on the eastbound on ramp.
Crews are also beginning to work on the bridge improvements with the new diverging diamond being built where Lewiston Road crosses I-20.
The expansion of Lewiston Road began in April 2020 and is expected to be completed at the beginning of 2024, according to Titus.
Flowing Wells Road
The Flowing Wells Road road construction began in 2019, and the project was expected to be done in July 2022, but the date now has extended to possibly the beginning of 2023.
Titus said this was a unique project because it was done in two separate phases in order to save the county money. The first phase was utility relocation, and the second phase for the road construction.
“I think it was successful. It may have delayed the project a little bit because there is a down time between finishing one project, bidding the next project and executing the contract and getting that remobilized,” Titus said. “COVID didn’t help with Flowing Wells at all with the labor shortage. It took awhile for the contractor of Flowing Wells to get staffed up and even when they got staffed up, because of the labor shortage in the industry as a whole, there were a lot of material shortages.”
At the beginning of this week, they were to begin constructing a right turn lane near the light where Flowing Wells Road intersects with Columbia Road.
Titus said the current expected completion date for the Flowing Wells road project is the end of January 2023.
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Sidewalk and Cross Walk Closure William Few Parkway
A temporary sidewalk and crosswalk closure will occur between the intersections of Windwood Street and Leyland Lane from Saturday, Oct. 8 to Wednesday, Oct. 12. According to a Columbia County news release, there will be a temporary crosswalk to cross William Few Parkway at Windwood Street. There will also be short, intermittent lane closures on William Few Parkway at this location at times according to the release.
Titus said this crosswalk closure is due to widening of the William Few Parkway left turn lane into Windwood.
“Where we are widening is going to affect current sidewalk and crosswalk location, and we didn’t want kids having to walk through heavy equipment at construction sites,” he said.
Merrymont Subdivision and Bartram Trail Subdivision
There will be temporary lane closures with lane shifts in the Merrymont Subdivision from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Saturday, Oct. 15. A Columbia County news release said, Thomas Drive, Dennis Drive, Langley Court, Gray Drive, Merrymont Drive, Melrose Drive, Englewood Drive, Allison Road, Park Way Drive, Park Way Court, Thomas Circle and Thomas Way will have intermittent lane closures due to road paving.
There will also be temporary lane closures with lane shifts in Bartram Trail Subdivision from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Friday, Oct. 7. Fothergill Drive, Long Cane Ridge and Tugaloo Court will have intermittent lane closures due to road paving.
Grovetown Liberty Hills Subdivision
According to the City of Grovetown, Washington Street in the Liberty Hills subdivision will be closed through Oct. 12. Commuters will be routed to a detour taking them down Parham Road to the neighborhood entrance at Jefferson Street.
Antebellum Way
Antebellum Way will have a temporary road closure due to the upcoming “Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Light the Night” event. According to a Columbia County news release, Antebellum Way will be closed to all through traffic from 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6.
Chris Rickerson is a staff reporter covering Columbia County government and general assignment topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at chris@theaugustapress.com.
