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''When I first got out here, I bought a bicycle,'' the military retiree said. ''I'd go riding up and down (Windsor Spring). Then the traffic got so heavy - well, I sold the bike.''

Soon after, she said, she noticed that more of the wooded lots were being cleared and more cars were filling the main road. Eventually, fast-food restaurants and strip malls were being built - bringing even more cars.

According to the most recent census, the area around Windsor Spring and Tobacco roads grew by about 50 percent, mirroring the overall growth in south Augusta.

Although Augusta's overall population grew by only 5 percent, or 10,056 people, during the past decade, the western and southern sections of the county have experienced explosive growth - mostly through migration.

As more people and businesses move to these areas, they bring with them more vehicles and more challenges for area transportation planners to keep pace by building and widening roads.

For example, Windsor Spring Road between Georgia Highway 88 in Hephzibah and Tobacco Road is slated to be widened to four lanes sometime in 2006 and 2007 - a project Mrs. Lilly said she welcomes.

''I know when I pull off onto Windsor Spring, it just seems like it's harder to get off onto the road,'' she said.

Of 25 road-widening and construction projects that Richmond County Public Works and Engineering is either finishing or has planned for the future, more than half, 14, are slated for west Augusta. Six more projects affect south Augusta roads.

''In the regions where most of the road projects either under way or planned are in areas of high-growth areas,'' said Paul DeCamp, planning director for the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission.

While south Augusta's population increase has been attributed to mostly residential growth, west Augusta's population increase of nearly 75 percent includes a heavy commercial influence.

Several projects were completed during the past decade to handle the amount of traffic associated with the commercial development that grew around the intersection of Interstate 20 and Bobby Jones Expressway.

Walton Way Extension was completed in 1988 to run to Medical Center Drive and was extended further to the I-20 and Wheeler Road interchange in 1998.

Only recently have transportation workers been able to address another burgeoning patch of west Augusta - the areas branching off from Washington Road toward the county line.

The last major road project in the area was River Watch Parkway, which opened in 1991 to relieve traffic congestion along Washington Road. The parkway runs parallel to Washington Road and has substantially less commercial development.

With River Watch offering motorists an alternative route, the level of traffic on Washington Road near the I-20 intersection has stayed close to what it was in 1989 - about 35,000 cars traveling on the road annually, according to count stations that traffic engineers monitor.

As more people and businesses move along Washington Road and into nearby Columbia County, Richmond County Traffic Engineer Jim Huffstetler said, traffic levels will only increase along both roads.

''That part of Richmond County has really built up, and it's almost full,'' he said. ''So now Washington Road (traffic) is nearing the level it was before. As more growth occurs, it's going to increase.''

Alexander Drive, Davis Drive, Berckmans Road and Stevens Creek Road off Washington Road are all scheduled for widening projects. Meanwhile, River Watch Parkway is slated to be extended, and adjoining roads such as Furys Ferry Road and Old Petersburg Road in Columbia County are in the works to be widened.

Columbia County experienced significant growth of 35 percent during the past decade, according to census figures.

Transportation planners have known about these pockets of growth for years, Mr. DeCamp said. They use forecasts to predict population and housing unit growth even before the census comes out every 10 years, he said.

''Based on those forecasts of travel, those help us identify what roads are going to be in need of widening or improvements in future years,'' he said. ''What the 2000 census has shown for this region is pretty close in terms of what we anticipated seeing.''

Just because planners are tracking the growth doesn't mean that the road projects can keep pace.

''There's only so much funding in any given year,'' Mr. DeCamp said. ''It's never enough to meet all the demands. In essence, we're always playing catch up with the growth that's taking place.''

Reach Vicky Eckenrode at (706) 823-3227.