Augusta Approves $1M To Speed up Broad Street Construction as Businesses Raise Timeline Concerns

Augusta Commission members approved an extra $1 million to speed up downtown projects. The cash boost targets work on Broad Street's business district, with crews ready to start next month.

Construction stopped at 15th Street and Saint Sebastian Way when workers found problems with underground pipes. While the money aims to restart progress, store owners wait anxiously without clear timelines or updates.

"We just look out the front window and see what they're doing or not doing, and that's how we judge what's going on," said Lane Keen, owner of Keen Signs and Graphics, per WRDW.

Officials promised a two-month project back in February. Now, five months later, store owners still wait for news about progress. The mess forced some shops to change how they work just to stay open.

Shops without back entrances face bigger challenges. When work starts on Broad Street, some might struggle to stay open.

"The ones that don't have a Jones Street access, when they start tearing that part of Broad Street up, I have no clue what they're gonna do. I feel for them," Keen said to WRDW.

The city must still vote on the extra funds. Next week's commission meeting will tackle both the funding and night work schedule. Some officials pushed back against night work plans, worried about the effects on evening businesses.