Ronald Reagan Drive in Evans will extend this summer into a proposed multi-use development, but it won't immediately serve as a connector between two busy roads.

The developers of Marshall Square, a 52-acre planned-unit development between Evans Town Center Boulevard and Industrial Park Drive, intend to build a road bisecting the development. The new road, placed directly across Ronald Reagan Drive where it intersects Evans Town Center Boulevard, will eventually bear Mr. Reagan's name when it meets Industrial Park Drive on the opposite side of Marshall Square, according to county officials.

Officials recently agreed to further honor Mr. Reagan by renaming part of another road after him.

"When Marshall Square builds that missing segment, then they'll extend the name Ronald Reagan Drive to replace Industrial (Park) Drive all the way to Southern Pines (Drive)," said Scott Herring, the director of the county's construction and maintenance services division.

Marshall Square developer Don Lawrence said the first phase of the Ronald Reagan Drive extension should be finished by August, but it won't cross the entire length of the development.

In the first phase, the new road will meet with a connector road to be built back toward Evans Town Center Boulevard across from the Columbia County Library's entrance.

The name change won't take place until the road is extended the entire breadth of Marshall Square, said county management services Director Todd Glover.

Officials said they hope an extended Ronald Reagan Drive will ease traffic flow on Evans Town Center Boulevard and Industrial Park Drive.

Columbia County also has plans to expand River Watch and William Few parkways.

The state Transportation Department is buying rights of way to extend River Watch Parkway down Petersburg Road and then to Washington Road across from the intersection at Town Center Boulevard. DOT officials estimate the project will cost about $65 million. The extension will provide an alternative to Washington Road for drivers traveling between Evans and downtown Augusta.

The DOT also plans to extend William Few Parkway to Hardy McManus Road as part of a $23.7 million project.

On the other end of the parkway, where it meets Columbia Road, county officials want to extend it to Chamblin Road near the new Grovetown High School. Officials hope this extension will ease traffic on Chamblin Road once the high school opens.

"We're trying to do it in conjunction with school construction, but it's going to depend on the design," Mr. Herring said. "We've got a little bit of right of way to acquire."

Mr. Herring was reluctant to commit to a time frame to start the project until rights of way are secured. He said the estimated cost of the extension is about $2 million.