A ceremony will be held next week to recognize expansion of the Highland Avenue Water Treatment Plant after more than two years of work.
But it will be lacking one big reason to celebrate.
A portion of Central Avenue, which has been closed near Highland Avenue for the duration of the project, will not reopen until late September or possibly October, according to interim Augusta Utilities Director Drew Goins. Part of the problem is that an outdated collection of wiring, called a duct bank, was found underneath the road and needs to be replaced before they repave, Mr. Goins said.
"We had full intentions of having the road opened up, but here about a week or two ago AT&T said there was a duct bank," Mr. Goins said. "That didn't make my day."
Originally expected to be completed this June, the $63 million project has expanded the capacity of the Highland Avenue plant from 45 million gallons of drinking water daily to 60 million gallons. Mr. Goins said they began introducing water from the Savannah River that was treated at the plant into the city's drinking supply in June after receiving approval from the Environmental Protection Division. A ceremony for the completion of the project will be held Aug. 27 at the plant.
Mr. Goins blamed construction delays on centuries-old equipment and hidden piping. The plant was built in 1899 and was one of the nation's first two sand filtration plants to provide drinking water. It was expanded in the 1930s and again in the 1950s, with smaller modifications made in the 1970s.
Mr. Goins said many of the city's maps didn't clearly indicate where some of the old pipes were.
"We knew things were there, we just didn't know where they were," he said.
Workers also had to contend with a 100-foot-tall crane and FAA regulations, caused by the nearby Daniel Field Airport, he said.
Meanwhile, Asim Momin, owner of the Dairy Queen restaurant on Central Avenue behind Daniel Village Shopping Center, continues to try to keep his business alive. Mr. Momin said he has struggled since the construction essentially cut off his business from drive-by traffic. He credits the local private schools in the area and workers from the Highland Avenue project for keeping him going.
"That's the only reason I'm still here," Mr. Momin said. "Otherwise, I'd be gone."
He said he has been hearing since February that the road will reopen, but it keeps being delayed.
"They keep saying, next month, next month, next month, next month," Mr. Momin said. "I kind of gave up my hopes. I am like, eventually they're going to open it."
Reach Adam Folk at (706) 823-3338 or adam.folk@augustachronicle.com.
IF YOU GO
A dedication ceremony will be held Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. to noon for the completion of the Highland Avenue Water Treatment Plant expansion. Drew Goins, interim Augusta utilities director, said local political leaders will attend, along with the designers and workers for the project.
NEARBY PROJECTS
THE WALL: Three local artists from the Art Factory, a nonprofit arts education foundation, with three very different styles are preparing to paint a Savannah River scene on the wall that surrounds the Highland Avenue Water Treatment Plant. Interim Augusta Utilities Director Drew Goins said the department plans to have local college and high school students decorate the Iris Street side of the wall, and will have other artwork painted on the Wrightsboro Road side.
MOCKINGBIRD HILL: Mr. Goins said they have moved the collection of miniature buildings called Mockingbird Hill just a few feet further down Central Avenue on the same hill, closer to the Dairy Queen. Built in the 1940s by local firefighters, Mockingbird Hill consisted of a small home, church, cabin, windmill and water wheel -- many of which have been rebuilt by volunteers.
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