A proposal to expand the Ascauga Lake Road corridor study would add a closer look at widening and sidewalks between Hillview Drive and Ergle Street, putting a third project alongside two intersection improvements already selected for feasibility work.
The requested increase is $10,990, raising the study budget from $198,920 to $209,910. The amendment is listed for action at the Augusta Regional Transportation Study’s South Carolina Policy Subcommittee meeting Thursday, Nov. 5, at 4 p.m., according to the published agenda.
The meeting is at the Aiken County Government Center, 1930 University Parkway, in the first-floor Sandlapper Room. The agenda separately lists an information-only presentation on the corridor study by AECOM’s Ryan Eckenrode.
The money at issue would buy additional feasibility analysis. It is not an appropriation to widen the road or build sidewalks, and the proposal does not establish a construction start date.
A third project gets a closer look
A Nov. 4 staff memorandum in the regional planning committees’ agenda packet, pages 30–32, identifies the corridor study’s three highest-ranked projects:
- Improvements at the Chalk Bed Road/Old Powerhouse Road intersection.
- Improvements at the Sudlow Lake Road intersection.
- Widening and sidewalk improvements from Hillview Drive to Ergle Street.
AECOM’s original scope called for feasibility studies of the two highest-ranked projects. The proposed amendment would extend that work to the third, the Hillview-to-Ergle segment. AECOM would coordinate with the South Carolina Department of Transportation on the additional study’s scope and requirements under the agency’s feasibility-report process.
The proposed revised budget identifies $167,928 in federal highway planning funds and $41,982 in Aiken County matching funds. Those figures cover the full $209,910 study budget, not just the additional analysis.
Planning before construction
The broader corridor study covers about 7.5 miles of Ascauga Lake Road, also designated S-33, between Edgefield Road/U.S. 25 and Canal Street/S.C. 191. Its stated purpose is to develop a corridor management plan addressing traffic, safety and future needs, including walking and bicycling.
The work program calls for recommendations, project rankings and identification of possible funding sources. It also calls for the concept plan to identify the costs and actions needed to carry out proposed improvements.
That distinction matters for people who use the corridor: ranking a widening-and-sidewalk project for further study is a step toward determining what could be built and what it would require. It does not settle the design, cost or construction schedule.
The Nov. 4 packet requested committee approval of the budget amendment; it is not a record of the committees’ votes. Thursday’s published agenda places the same amendment before the South Carolina policy subcommittee. The immediate decision is whether to expand the planning work so the Hillview-to-Ergle proposal can be evaluated alongside the two intersection projects.