The Georgia Department of Transportation has awarded a more than $2 million dollar contract to install traffic cameras and other equipment to Interstates 20 and 520 in Columbia and Richmond Counties.
The expansion will include eight closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, four message signs and 34 radar detection assemblies. Those are devices that monitor traffic speeds and volume and can detect problems, like a traffic jam, as they happen.
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Currently, the Augusta area has just a few CCTV cameras on I-20, one at exit 190 and five from River Watch Parkway to the South Carolina state line.
This GDOT project is being paid for with state funds but is a partnership with Augusta’s Engineering Department.
Augusta Traffic Engineer John Ussery said the expansion will provide several benefits.
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“It will enable us to better see the on-ramps and off-ramps at the interstates, parts of some highways and along the interstate itself,” Ussery said.
He said that can be especially beneficial by letting them adjust traffic signals if congestion is developing, particularly during special events like Masters week and the Ironman Triathlon.
Exact locations for all the devices have not been chosen but they will be installed along I-20 from the South Carolina state line to exit 194 at Belair Road and along Bobby Jones Expressway from I-20 to the state line.
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GDOT spokesman Kyle Collins said work should begin within the next 60 to 90 days. The completion date is June 2022.
The cameras will be part of Georgia’s Navigator 511 system: www.511ga.org
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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