As the weather warms, Columbia County residents can expect construction and traffic to increase at the county’s three major road projects.
On Wednesday, R. Kyle Titus, Columbia County government’s top engineer, provided an update.
Furys Ferry Road in Evans
Crews are currently removing debris, dirt and mountains of sawdust from downed trees along the busy two-lane Furys Ferry Road between Evans to Locks Road and Hardy McManus Road. Crews are also moving utility infrastructure along the road, including power lines, fiber optic lines and water lines.
The construction will continue through 2025 and will expand Furys Ferry Road to four lanes between Evans to Locks and Hardy McManus roads. Engineers will build a roundabout at the intersection of Hardy McManus and a traffic light at Blackstone Camp Road. Crews will repave Furys Ferry Road from Hardy McManus Road to the Savannah River crossing at the South Carolina border, but not widen the road on that section, Titus said.
Flowing Wells Road in Martinez
About 15,000 automobiles a day travel along Flowing Wells Road and relieving the heavy traffic flow is the reason officials decided to widen the two-lane road to three, with the addition of right-hand turn lanes. The construction extends from Columbia Road south to the Mason McKnight Jr. Parkway.
“It’s a heavily traveled road with lots of turning movements, the schools. It’s busy,” Titus said.
Martinez Elementary School and Augusta Preparatory Day School are on Flowing Wells Road within the construction area.
The project began in April 2019 and is expected to be complete in the summer or fall of 2022, Titus said.
Lewiston Road in Grovetown
Expanding Lewiston Road from two lanes to five began in April 2020 and is expected to be complete in 2023. The project also introduces a new traffic feature to Columbia County called a diverging diamond, which will be built where Lewiston Road crosses Interstate 20. A diverging diamond is designed to keep traffic moving onto major highways, but it has vehicles crossing from the right lane and traveling on the left side of a road.
County engineers provided a video to demonstrate how a diverging diamond works.
Major construction on Lewiston Road at I-20 will begin in two to three months, depending on weather, and Titus recommends drivers find alternate routes during peak commute times.
Joshua B. Good is a staff reporter covering Columbia County and military/veterans’ issues for The Augusta Press. Reach him at joshua@theaugustapress.com
