ARTS committee OKs plans to improve parts of Whiskey Road

Whiskey Road beautification and improvement plans have been submitted to the policy committee of the Augusta Regional Transportation Study (ARTS) for review.

The plans - which call for stormwater drainage improvements, sidewalks and landscaping from Dougherty Road to Aiken Mall Drive and on Dougherty Road from Whiskey Road to Murrah Avenue - were unanimously approved by the ARTS South Carolina subcommittee on Thursday and moved forward.

This would be a "full roadway improvement," according to Sandra Korbelik, senior planner with the City of Aiken.

On the west side of Whiskey Road, the deep drainage ditches in that approximately 2,300-foot stretch would be outfitted with double drain pipes, filled in to create a flat surface for pedestrians and replaced with curb and gutter. The sidewalks would include grass medians.

The project will use up roughly $521,000 in federally allocated transportation enhancement funds.

City Manager Richard Pearce said Aiken will be working with the South Carolina Department of Transportation of the project to obtain necessary right of way on the impacted 60 parcels of land.

There is no time frame set yet for the project.

In other business, the subcommittee received news of an upcoming corridor study on Highway 19.

Aiken County Transportation Planner Gerald Jefferson said a request for qualifications (RFQ) will be sent out later this month.

The study is similar to that of the nearly-completed U.S. 1/U.S. 78 corridor study in that it will look at traffic safety and management issues. The study area is from Hampton Avenue to I-20.

The cost of the study is an estimated $125,000.

Haley Hughes is approaching her 5-year anniversary as the Aiken County government reporter with the Aiken Standard. Hughes, a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, hails from Knoxville, Tenn.