13th Street roadwork delays continue to cause headaches
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Bright yellow signs are mixing with orange construction cones, road closed signs and detour arrows in downtown Augusta.
The signs serve as a call to the community to let people know that Andy Jordan’s Bicycle Warehouse is still open despite construction in the area making it hard to get there.
“It’s definitely been challenging, you know, go from having around 13,000 cars a day go by to zero. There’s no way around it,” said owner Drew Jordan.
A project that closed the bridge over the Augusta Canal on 13th Street shut down a major connection from the medical district to downtown in August.
Jordan only had a 24-hour notice before the closure started.
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“I’m scrambling trying to get signs made just to let people know like, ‘Hey, yes, this road is closed, but we are still open, and you can still get here,’ so I’m just trying to put signs up all around this corridor, just kind of making it clear that people can come down our road,” he said.
It’s been hard to keep the business coming in since it all started.
“We’ve got medical, and we’ve got a school, and then I’m the only retail establishment, so people are going to get their kids to school, they’re going to get to those doctor’s appointments. When it comes to the bike shop and say ‘Well, maybe I could go somewhere else where it’s easier,’” said Jordan.
Now, the city says the project will be delayed until early April.
“The road closure has been far from fun,” he said.
The Georgia Department of Transportation says that in 2022 the road saw 13,500 cars daily, that’s now halted since the closure.
“It’s got to hurry up and get done. I mean it’s affecting my business. You know, I’ve got staff that is counting on us,” said Jordan.
With fewer cars going by, there’s less chances of getting new customers.
“Those people that just happen to be driving by and notice your shop. That’s not really happening anymore. People have to have the forethought that they’re seeking a bike shop and they find us and then they’re going to come try to get to us,” he said. “If 13,000 people are all of a sudden not coming by your building every day. I mean, that’s huge. Just 1% of those people notice your building, that’s still huge.”
Jordan says he does understand the project needs to be done, but he’s looking forward to the day when customers can have easy access to the building again.
For more information about this project and other ones in Augusta, click here.
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