Berckmans Road Widening and Realignment - Augusta, GA

This project consisted of the widening and realignment of Berckmans Road, and also included a roundabout at the intersection of Berckmans Road and Ingleside. The proposed roundabout was designed as a single-lane roundabout with a westbound bypass lane just south of the bridge over Raes Creek. The design of the roundabout addressed unique challenges. These challenges included locating the proposed roundabout enough to the south to minimize impacts to Raes Creek and not interfere with the bridge design. The roundabout design took into consideration the existing approaches of Ingleside and Willow Ridge which are aligned to the south and posed a speed management challenge. As this was a TIA project, a TIA concept report, including conceptual plans and a conceptual cost estimate was prepared. Phase 1 of this project was completed in April 2016 and included the installation of the new roadway alignment section, including the installation of an 8’ sidewalk, drainage facilities, signal upgrades at two signals, and three pedestrian tunnels. Given the large amount of utilities that needed to be rerouted, a utility corridor, in which each utility had an assigned offset from the edge of the roadway, was installed along the west side of the project. This required extensive coordination with the utility providers, but expedited the utility installations during construction and ensures less utility headaches in the future.