CSX has plans to reinforce the Olive Road bridge and raise it by two inches, a company official said Tuesday. But the plans are on hold until next year while the company explores the options.
“Of all the bridges that we have, this and one in Athens are the worst,” said Craig Camuso, who works in state government relations for the company.
Vehicles have run into the low-clearance underpass since it was built. But strikes seem to have increased over the last three years, and CSX has had to spend $250,000 to realign the tracks during that time, Camuso said.
Fearing the worst, CSX wants to reinforce the bridge so a vehicle impact doesn’t knock a train off the tracks, he said.
“It’s just a matter of time before a car or truck is going to hit that bridge while a train is going over it,” he said.
Raising the tracks two inches will make the bridge’s clearance 10 feet, eight inches. For trucks that misjudge the height, the reinforced bridge will be less forgiving.
“The next vehicle that hits that bridge is going to remember it,” Camuso said.
Options include plastic barrier, overpass or closure
As the bridge’s frequent impacts become fodder for TikTok videos and Facebook profiles, city officials have tried various arrays of lights, speed humps and signs to warn motorists of the low clearance.
But the bridge was struck again less than two weeks ago, Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle said.
“It’s actually become a joke,” Guilfoyle said.
Guilfoyle has been experimenting with pieces of plastic pipe that would bump a vehicle before it gets to the bridge. He said the pipe has worked in other cities. “It doesn’t do any damage, but it wakes up the driver,” he said.
CSX probably won’t begin the raising and reinforcement project until next year as it explores other options, Camuso said.
Those include building a vehicle overpass nearby, or closing the bridge to motorists, which “would be a little difficult for the public and those that live along that detour route,” he said.
Federal funds for infrastructure are coming in from Washington, D.C. and CSX would consider paying 20% to 50% in matching funds to build an overpass, he said.
The railroad considers devices used to protect motorists from trains as “traffic control devices” and the responsibility of state and local governments, Camuso said.
Mayor Garnett Johnson invited Camuso to Tuesday’s meeting. Johnson said he hopes Augusta can finally address the decades-old issue, and that plastic pipes denoting height clearance are common in area parking garages.
“Hopefully, now we can have a conversation about how we could resolve it for future generations,” he said.
Right-sizing plan sidelined for another workshop
In other action, the commission voted to postpone enacting Interim Administrator Takiyah Douse’s right-sizing plan until a workshop on right-of-way maintenance is held.
Part of the plan is combining Augusta’s array of maintenance crews, services and contracts into a single department, while other plan components are unrelated to maintenance.
Douse said while several department directors had been “vocal” with concerns about the plan, holding off on implementing it “only delays the planning” needed to actually implement it.
$38 million jail pod gets nod
The commission approved seeking a funding stream to cover a loan to construct a new pod at Charles B. Webster Detention Center. Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree said last week the additional cell space for 192 prisoners will cost $38 million.
Guilfoyle said the Urban Redevelopment Agency could issue bonds for the project, as it did in other areas designated as blighted.
Mayor’s plan to model budget cuts fails 5-3
A vote on Johnson’s proposal for city departments to model 5% and 10% budget cuts failed 5-3, with commissioners Jordan Johnson, Stacy Pulliam, Bobby Williams, Tony Lewis and Francine Scott voting no. Guilfoyle and commissioners Sean Frantom and Brandon Garrett voted yes, while Alvin Mason and Catherine Smith McKnight were absent.
Mayor Garnett Johnson said the practice was common in state government and the private sector, but Williams said the commission needed to tell department heads what cuts to make.
“If you call me and ask me to cut 5%, I don’t know where to cut it from,” Williams said.
Johnson, who owns an office equipment business, said the mayor’s office would “lead the way” by modeling cuts of its own. The mayor’s office budget swelled to more than $500,000 annually under former Mayor Hardie Davis.
