North Augusta, Streets & Drains

The City of North Augusta's Streets & Drains Department is responsible for maintenance of approximately 125 miles of road right-of-way within the city limits. These maintenance activities include pot hole repair, concrete curb & gutter and sidewalk replacement, storm drain pipe and catch basin cleaning, street tree maintenance, right-of-way mowing and street sweeping. The Streets & Drains Department is responsible for the installation and maintenance of traffic signals. The Department also constructs new storm drainage facilities and other special projects.

Of the 125 miles of roadway within the city, approximately 80% (100 miles) are owned by the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT). The Streets & Drains Department performs minor pavement maintenance on the secondary roads. Major repairs on these roads and the primary state routes through the city are referred to the SCDOT. The other 20% (25 miles) of roads within the city limits are city owned. The Streets & Drains Department is responsible for all maintenance activities on these roads.

The Engineering Department performs annual pavement evaluations on all the roads within the city. The roads are rated according to a standard pavement rating system. Maintenance needs are prioritized and recommendations are made. A list of state roads needing resurfacing is submitted to the SCDOT. The SCDOT determines which roads can be resurfaced within the city's allotment of Aiken County's C-Fund budget. The SCDOT administers the contract to have this work done. The Engineering Department contracts the resurfacing of the city streets.

The Streets & Drains Department is responsible for maintaining all of the existing drainage systems and constructing/upgrading minor drainage systems where needed. Maintenance of storm drains includes pipe and catch basin cleaning, pipe replacement, ditch cleaning and regrading, inlet/outlet stabilization, repair of catch basin tops, easement maintenance and detention pond maintenance. City crews also perform construction of new or upgraded drainage facilities. Where this work is done on SCDOT roadways, the materials are usually provided by that agency.

In 1989, the Engineering Department conducted an extensive city-wide storm drainage analysis. The drainage basins were delineated, the existing drainage facilities were identified and various design storms were routed through the systems. The problem areas were identified and further studied to determine the improvements needed. These improvements were prioritized according to potential damage to public and private property and a program was established which aggressively addresses these problems. Most of the high priority projects have been completed as well as many of the medium and low priority projects. Most of this work has been completed by city crews.

The Streets and Drains Department is responsible for maintaining the right-of-ways and street trees along various major thoroughfares in the city. Maintenance includes litter removal, weed control, mowing shoulders, brush cutting, low-hanging/dead limb pruning, fallen tree removal and assessment of problem trees.

The city's Streets & Drains Department is responsible, in cooperation with various other departments and contractors, for the construction of various special construction projects. Some projects completed in recent years include the North Augusta Greeneway Park, park facility ADA improvements, Public Safety parking lot, MRF glass bunkers, MRF truck scale and the Edenfield Park tennis courts.