Some work still 2 years from end

The good news for Richmond County motorists is that all those road projects around town are moving ahead on schedule.

The bad news? They won't be done for about two more years.

That's when work on the Interstate 20 and Bobby Jones Expressway interchange and the downtown St. Sebastian Way project are expected to be complete, according to Mike Keene, the area engineer for the Georgia Department of Transportation.

"By July 2010, the work that people are seeing this minute will be winding down or complete," Mr. Keene said Friday.

The Augusta office of the state Transportation Department is currently responsible for about $300 million in road construction in Richmond, Lincoln, Wilkes and Columbia counties. Updates on the projects include:

PROJECT: I-20 and Bobby Jones Expressway interchange

DUE DATE: July 31, 2010

CHALLENGES: Motorists will soon see the steel beams for the new flyover ramps spanning I-20, Mr. Keene said.

The $191 million project is a major reconstruction of the on- and offramps at the interchange. It also includes work on the Wheeler Road and Bobby Jones interchange and construction on Scott Nixon Memorial Drive. Lane closures and shifts will be ongoing in the next few months.

By Thanksgiving, a new Bobby Jones bridge will span Scott Nixon Memorial Drive and motorists will no longer be diverted around the former intersection, Mr. Keene said.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: "There will be intersections at the bottom of the hill where Scott Nixon goes under Bobby Jones," Mr. Keene said. "You will be able to drive under Bobby Jones on Scott Nixon without having to cross that red light."

PROJECT: I-20 from Warren Road to the Augusta Canal

DUE DATE: Oct. 31, 2009

CHALLENGES: Construction of a third lane on both sides of I-20 from Davis Road to River Watch Parkway has caused motorists to shift and switch back and forth through the corridor for the past year. The speed limit was recently reduced to 45 mph in the area, Mr. Keene said. The shifts will be in place for some time as workers rebuild the I-20 bridge over River Watch Parkway to accommodate the new lanes.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: "We're tearing out what were the existing lanes of I-20 and they're putting back those now," Mr. Keene said.

PROJECT: Washington Road to Pleasant Home Road

DUE DATE: March 31, 2009

CHALLENGES: Crews did not repave Washington Road under the I-20 overpass because they didn't want to interfere with the work of rebuilding the bridge above.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: The repaving work on Washington Road from Broad Street to I-20 is finished, according to Mr. Keene. Crews have now begun to put new traffic signals along the corridor.

"We will be bringing them all up to present day standards," he said.

PROJECT: St. Sebastian Way

DUE DATE: July 31, 2010

CHALLENGES: Several unmapped sewer and gas lines have bogged down work, but the project remains on schedule. Mr. Keene said some of the lines are very old and have had to be moved as crews build new roads and repave some areas.

When complete, the three-year, $30 million project will connect the city's medical centers to River Watch Parkway. Motorists will be able to hop at Walton Way and bypass downtown railroad tracks to get to River Watch Parkway.

There have already been some short-term lane closures on Broad Street as part of the work, according to Mr. Keene. Motorists won't see any more major shifts or closures until summer 2009, but there might be periodic single-lane closures on River Watch Parkway in the next few weeks.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: "What we're doing now is clearing out trees, grass, cutting down hills, buildings, anything on the path of the roadway," Mr. Keene said. "Because it's such an old area of town, there are things under the roadway that even the utility departments don't know are there."

Reach Adam Folk at (706) 823-3339 or adam.folk@augustachronicle.com.