Roadway roundup: Work on bridges to affect local drivers

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Lane closures and traffic shifts are needed to complete repair work on the Washington Road bridge over Lake Olmstead.

Wednesday and Thursday night, lane closures will be in place from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. so crews can complete work on the structure.

This weekend starting Friday until 5 a.m. Monday morning, eastbound traffic over the bridge will be shifted to the shoulder so a protective polymer overlay can be applied to the bridge deck.

The same shoulder shift will be put in place on the westbound side the weekend of April 27 through May 1 so that side may be treated, as well.

Besides polymer application, this bridge rehabilitation consists of joint replacement, edge beam replacement, spall repair, steel pile encasement, sway bracing and drift removal.

Electronic message boards notifying travelers of the lane closures will be activated.

Lane closures set on downtown state-line bridge

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Bridge foundation investigation work on the 13th Street/Georgia Avenue bridge over the Savannah River is scheduled to start Monday, weather permitting.

Test borings will be obtained in order to gather information about the foundation of this structure that traverses the Georgia-South Carolina border.

Four different single-lane closures — one at a time — will be put in place so the work can be completed.

The consulting firm obtaining the test borings expects the job to take three to six business days.

Workers will be out in the field between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Two borings will be done on the Georgia side with two more on the South Carolina side.

This is preliminary work for a project that will eventually replace the bridge in place with a wider one.

That project is currently scheduled for March 2024 letting.

Bicycling event to affect traffic in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga - On Tuesday, the Soul City Criterium will take place in the heart of downtown Augusta.

The Soul City Criterium is the fourth stop of the 2022 Speed Week and the USA Cycling Criterium is part of the three-day USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championship.

For the safety of the cyclists, deputies from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office will tightly regulate traffic the course, which will be:

Broad Street side of Augusta Common.
Take a right on Ninth Street.
Take a right on Reynolds Street.
Take a right on Seventh Street.
Take a right on Broad Street.
End in front of the Augusta Common.

Several road and lane closures planned in Columbia County

EVANS, Ga. - Columbia County, in cooperation with contractors, wants drivers to know about these a temporary lane closure:

Jones Landing Court due to utility installation at Evans to Locks Road. The lane closure will be from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday.
Inverness Way from West Lake Drive to High Hampton Drive to replace storm water utilities. The road closure will be from Monday to May 25.
Lewiston Road in the right, northbound lane from Gateway Boulevard to Sugarcreek Drive. The lane closure will be from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through April 29.
William Few Parkway due to paving, with intermittent lane closures from Lewiston Road to Columbia Road. The lane closure will be from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday through May 15.

Effort seeks to cut down traffic deaths in Georgia

MACON, Ga. - Georgia motorists are asked to join the effort to put the brakes on the increase in traffic deaths in the state.

The safety message for motorists was part of a one-day traffic summit “Enough! Putting the Brakes on Traffic Deaths in Georgia” held Wednesday in Macon.

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and AAA sponsored the summit after preliminary crash data showed 2021 was one of the deadliest years on the road in the United States and Georgia in the last 15 years.

Statistics show that while overall traffic crashes and miles traveled in Georgia decreased in 2020 compared to 2019, the number of fatal crashes and serious injury crashes in 2020 increased from 2019.

“Changing behavior behind the wheel by getting drivers to obey the speed limit, wear their seat belt, keep their focus on the road and not their phone, and to never drive under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs is one of the most important steps in the effort to prevent crashes and save lives,” said Garrett Townsend of AAA.