Shaping the Region: Broad Street, Big Impact: How a Downtown Artery is Being Reimagined
If you want to understand how infrastructure can quietly reshape a city’s future, look no further than Broad Street in downtown Augusta.
For decades, Broad has been the city’s signature corridor – part main street, part entertainment district, part front porch to the region. Today, it is also the focus of one of Augusta’s most ambitious Transportation Investment Act (TIA) projects: a multi-mile streetscape and safety overhaul designed by Hussey Gay Bell to transform an oversized, auto-oriented road into a true Complete Street.
Augusta’s Broad Street Revitalization Overview
Spanning roughly three miles from West of Milledge Road to East Boundary Street, the Broad Street Revitalization project is fully funded through the regional 1% TIA sales tax. The work includes resurfacing, a lane reconfiguration, new sidewalks, high-visibility crosswalks, ADA upgrades, drainage and storm sewer improvements, curb and gutter reconstruction, streetscape and lighting enhancements, on-street parking, and intensive utility coordination.
From Wide Roadway to Complete Street
Historically, Broad Street’s generous width made it efficient for cars, but less welcoming for people. Multiple studies and planning efforts over the last decade have pointed to a lane reduction and streetscape upgrades as key strategies for safety and livability.
Hussey Gay Bell’s design takes that vision and makes it constructible. The corridor is being restriped from four travel lanes to three with a center turn lane, improving turning movements and calming traffic while preserving capacity. New sidewalks, curb extensions, specialty paving, and ADA-compliant ramps are being layered in to make crossings shorter and more visible, with the specific goal of reducing crash risk along the corridor and at intersections.
At the same time, the project replaces aging curb and gutter, upgrades storm drainage, and raises the notorious median “parking wells” — originally designed by internationally recognized architect I.M. Pei — to street level. These steps help address flooding, simplify parking, and create a cleaner, more unified streetscape.
The result: a corridor that doesn’t just move vehicles, but balances the needs of motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, and transit riders while stitching together civic spaces, neighborhoods, and businesses.
Community & Economic Ripple Effects
Local leaders view the Broad Street transformation as more than a paving project — it is a catalyst anchored by the James Brown Linear Park, the cultural and civic heart of downtown Augusta. Designed as an immersive public space, the park features a signature plaza with interactive water and fog jets synchronized to James Brown’s music, complemented by color-changing lighting that activates the space throughout the day and evening. The returning James Brown sculpture is placed on a newly designed, fully accessible stage, reflecting both community input and the park’s inclusive intent.
Musical storytelling is woven throughout the park’s design, from shade structures featuring iconic album imagery and “I Feel Good” sheet music to soundwave-patterned pavement and an engraved timeline of 20 legendary hits. Custom elements such as guitar-pick-shaped benches and Grammy-inspired planters transform everyday amenities into moments of discovery, reinforcing the park’s role as a gathering place that celebrates Augusta’s cultural identity.
Supporting this centerpiece, the City of Augusta describes the Broad Street work as a full reconstruction of pavement, curb and gutter, sidewalks, and storm drainage from Washington Road to Sand Bar Ferry Road. The project is part of a coordinated network of downtown street improvements intended to improve mobility, safety, and economic competitiveness, while delivering approximately 615 to 625 on-street parking spaces along Broad Street alone. For nearby businesses, the result is a stronger public realm — improved visibility, intuitive parking, safer crossings, and direct access to a signature park that supports outdoor dining, events, foot traffic, and long-term downtown vitality.
Our Role in the Transformation
Hussey Gay Bell serves as prime design consultant on this high-profile corridor, bringing together transportation systems engineering, roadway and pedestrian facility design, landscape architecture, traffic analysis, storm drainage, survey, wetland delineation, utility and railroad coordination, public involvement, ROW and permitting, and construction phase support.
Key Team Members Include:
- Clint Parker, PE, PMP – Project Manager
- Jeff Netzinger, PE – Roadway Technical Advisor
- Yolande Stover, PE – Roadway Design Lead
- John Eden, PE, LEED AP – Environmental & Public Involvement Lead
- Matthew Ricks, PhD, PE – Hydraulics/Drainage Lead
- John Pickens, PLA, PE – Lead Landscape Architect
Supported by subconsultants for traffic signal design, roadway and pedestrian lighting, and aerial photogrammetry, the team has navigated a complex matrix of GDOT TIA requirements, Complete Streets and safety manuals, plan development standards, and local permitting, all while coordinating with major subsurface gas and telecom utilities and planning block-by-block construction phasing to keep downtown functioning.
Why Broad Street Matters for Hussey Gay Bell
For our firm, Broad Street is more than a line item on a resume:
It’s a regional case study in how thoughtful road diets and streetscape investments can reduce crashes, unlock economic potential, and bring people back to historic main streets. It showcases our ability to lead multi-disciplinary, multi-agency projects under tight TIA budget and schedule constraints.
It highlights the value of designing for both place and performance, combining traffic operations, safety, drainage, and constructability with destination-driven elements like public art, green space, and pedestrian-scale lighting.
As construction continues over the next several years, the story of Broad Street will increasingly be told not just in plans and cross sections, but in the everyday experience of people who choose to walk a little farther, stay a little later, and invest a little more time and money in downtown Augusta.
For Hussey Gay Bell, that’s what Shaping the Region looks like: using infrastructure to quietly, but decisively to change how a place feels, functions, and grows.
