augusta what a shame the way the expressway and rd look (Atlanta: condos, how much)

[amlovingit]

Why do Calhoun express look so bad? I mean can they aleast update the lightning and put flowers and trees along one of the gateway to downtown. If I was tourist I would be afraid to go downtown from Calhoun express because it don't welcome you like it should
. I riding on Calhoun express today I notices something it this just not CE am talking about this all over augusta. Why they don't use the exit signs like they do in other cities. If augusta was to add some tourism designation to the signs and along bobby Jones I 20 and Calhoun express it will make more visitors to stop. The way to draw peoples in augusta to spend money is by getting their attention. So let you can let them what you are offering.

[Cardinalfan]

Because there is no reason to gentrify the downtown area. The majority of the medical students leave Augusta after they graduate and families that move to the area go to Columbia County to raise there kids. What's that leave? Old money families that send their kids to private school and don't care whether or not Augusta has a "cool" downtown area.

[nortonguy]

Moderator cut: Orphaned

Multiple signs are in full view to visitors traveling on Riverwatch pkwy heading towards downtown.. Neither I-20 or I-520 are located near downtown, so adding signs would be obsolete...

Considering all of the new residential and commercial projects, downtown and inner city Augusta is definitely being revitalize.. All you have to do is check out the first neighborhood Walmart coming soon.. On top the Rural Sourcing 100 IT jobs, purchasing of Fort Discovery, Whites building condo expansion and Whites warehouse private parking, Sprint Food & Metro Market, Tantra Lounge, etc..

The only old money families that really send their kids to private school is some of the Summerville residents, but even alot of their kids attend ARC... The only IB program in the entire metro/CSRA is at ARC..

I don't know too many upper middle class and definitley not middle class families sending their kids to private school... The same dynamic in Columbia County when it comes to wealthy families sending their kids to Augusta Prep and Augusta Christain...

[evb1]

Good post amlovingit! I noticed on the Augusta news this week that there is a major road entering town that is being beautified for a few miles with some landscaping. It looked like they were doing a great job. I'm sorry that I don't recall the specific location. And the recent post here referencing the tourism development expert speaking to the problem of visitors expecting all of Augusta to be as beautiful as the Masters venue and not finding this to be the case illustrates that this is an important issue for sure. I sure hope that my little post didn't make anyone's "head hurt". 'Cause, after all, only some of us have opinions that matter and only some of us express ourselves up to the standards dictated by The Oxford English Dictionary. Must be nice to be so special, eh?

[urbandevelopment]

I agree with you "AmLovingIt" Augusta makes an absolute awful first impression to people driving into the city. It starts with an excessive amount of billboards along I-do when your cross from Columbia County into Richmond County.
Washington Road from I-20 to the Augusta National is one of the ugliest streets in the country. Every year writers for various magazines and newspapers covering The Masters write very negative articles about how trashy Augusta is. Instead of addressing the issue of beautification the attitude of leadership in Augusta is let's burn the magazines/newspapers, what do they know.Yes I know Wheeler Rd has been landscaped (and it looks great) and supposedly St Sebastian Way is going to be landscaped. These efforts were undertaken primarily by private citizens not Augusta government. But there is a lot more beautification needed beyond just Wheeler Rd and St Sebastian Way.
Look no further than North Augusta, Aiken and to some extent Columbia County to see how its done.
I previously lived in Charlotte. As part of every new street improvement project in Charlotte,good sized street trees were required to be placed along the improved streets
What a difference between the tree canopy that exists in Charlotte and what exists in Augusta.
I doubt the Augusta Commission has ever even thought about how much better Augusta, the so called Garden City, would look if trees were planted along the major arterial streets like Washington Rd and Wrightsboro Rd

[williamchilders]

Augusta and Columbia SC have the ugliest gateway roadways that I have ever seen. Other than a few good areas, both cities are lacking in this category.

[nortonguy]

I agree this is one area were the city of Augusta can step it up.. We need to build multiple additional sidewalks throughout the entire county.. Deans Bridge rd, Mike Padgett, Windsor Spring, Laney Walker, etc..

Some roads like 15th street, I-520, Mike Padgett, Windsor Spring, Wrightsboro rd, etc are presently being widened or break ground in the future.. I doubt they'll have any landscaping projects before construction starts..

I don't think it's fair to compare Augusta vs North Augusta for instance which only has 2-3 major roads.. I definitely agree Washington rd in Richmond County can use some trees and plants, but I would never mention Columbia County as a comparison... The Washington rd portion especially around Martinez(Plesant Home rd-Club Car) is ten times worse compared to Richmond County..

The Saint Sebastian landscaping project is underway and consist of an private/public partnership..The city didn't pay for Wheeler rd, but did provide the equipment, etc.. The beautification projects about to start include Alexander rd, Gordon Hwy, and Riverwatch at I-20..

I think some of the writers tend to forget the Augusta National is located in the middle of suburbs.. All suburban areas even upscale have strip malls, kroger, publix, chain restaurants, etc.. You can't build tall hotels, condos, offices, etc around the National either because of security reasons.. Somebody tried to build condos in the National Hills Plaza, but they couldn't be more than 3-4 stories...

[therealpattman]

A while ago I proposed tunneling the Calhoun Expressway under the Augusta Country Club and connecting it to Wheeler Rd. I also proposed making Riverwatch a controlled access road with exits at Furys Ferry, Bastion and Alexander Dr, putting a raised median on Washington Rd with trees on it and widening Wheeler Rd from the Augusta Exchange to the Calhoun Tunnel( 4 lanes with raised median), and Wrightsboro Rd from North Leg to downtown( 4 to 6 lanes with raised median).

[Augustabuckeye]

Originally Posted by dpatt.marine1

A while ago I proposed tunneling the Calhoun Expressway under the Augusta Country Club and connecting it to Wheeler Rd. I also proposed making Riverwatch a controlled access road with exits at Furys Ferry, Bastion and Alexander Dr, putting a raised median on Washington Rd with trees on it and widening Wheeler Rd from the Augusta Exchange to the Calhoun Tunnel( 4 lanes with raised median), and Wrightsboro Rd from North Leg to downtown( 4 to 6 lanes with raised median).

And at what cost for the tunnel? Looking world wide, costs average between $10-75 MILLION per lane per mile. Not counting the aquisition of roadway rights...

So figure a tunnel of three lanes each way (including a break-down lane) distance of 1.5-2 miles = ~$100 Million to $900 Million. I am guessing that money may be hard to come up with...

[therealpattman]

Originally Posted by Augustabuckeye

And at what cost for the tunnel? Looking world wide, costs average between $10-75 MILLION per lane per mile. Not counting the aquisition of roadway rights...

So figure a tunnel of three lanes each way (including a break-down lane) distance of 1.5-2 miles = ~$100 Million to $900 Million. I am guessing that money may be hard to come up with...

I understand it was just an idea..... to bring Wheeler Rd downtown and put the Calhoun Expressway to good use would be huge for the city.... It would be like Freedom Parkway in Atlanta or Independence in Charlotte.