Residents react to plans for development in North Augusta

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - A plan to bring 180 townhouse units and retail and office space to North Augusta went before the planning commission Wednesday night.

The developer wants to build off Old Plantation Road in the area behind Circle K.

It’s in the earliest stages, and there wasn’t a vote during the meeting. It was for the community to weigh in for the commission to see the sketches.

Several neighbors showed up with concerns. Linda Burkhalter lives on Old Plantation Road.

“My fear is our road is going to become the 4th of July, 365 days a year with all of those cars, 180-360 cars,” she said.

While new development is exciting to consider in this growing part of North Augusta, one thing some people are worried about is how much more traffic they can handle.

“Traffic has increased tremendously since we moved here,” said Bill Price, Plantation Drive resident.

Price has lived on Plantation Drive, which connects with Old Plantation Road for almost 30 years. He says while new developments like the Savannah Barony neighborhood next to him are nice, he’s worried that ‘Moore’s Bluff’ might be more than his road can handle.

“To add that much traffic is going to make the whole situation considerably worse, particularly around the entrance to the neighborhood,” he said.

Kenneth Burtckhalter, Old Plantation Road resident said: “I think most of the growth has been in Edgefield County. It’s created enough incremental traffic over the years where it’s very difficult to make a left turn, to come out of old plantation road.”

Burtckhalter has also lived here for almost 30 years. He agrees traffic is what matters most.

It’s the main concern North Augusta addresses in their corridor study for Martintown Road. They already state plans for a new park, 900 residential units, and more commercial development on the other side of the road.

SCDOT also says the Martintown Road daily traffic count has increased 25 percent in the past decade.

A woman living next to the proposed site says her one-lane road won’t handle it.

“We just can’t sustain that kind of traffic on these roads,” she said.

To view the plans, visit North Augusta.

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