Council OKs $517,500 to underground utility crossings on East Stone Avenue, Augusta Street

Greenville City Council on an unanimous roll call approved an ordinance to appropriate $517,500 from the utility underground fund to underground existing overhead utilities at crossings and selected services on East Stone Avenue and Augusta Street.

The ordinance covers corridor-wide work on East Stone Avenue from Bennett Street toward Rutherford, with the council and staff identifying an initial block from Bennett to Benoit Street for the first phase. On Augusta Street the work targets the residential section from East Augusta Place toward Malden Road. City staff described the package as focusing on crossings rather than replacing main distribution lines: "this is really focusing on, some area lines that are crossing over the 2 streets. So it's a way to, as opposed to undergrounding the main distribution line running down the road, we're just looking at some crossings," a city staff member, Clint, said. He added the project will include undergrounding services to 10 residences on Augusta and services to four businesses and six crossings on Stone Avenue.

A council member who said they drive Stone Avenue daily described the overhead wiring as "a mess," thanking staff for the cleanup. The city manager framed the work as a mix of aesthetics and resiliency following recent storm testing, saying the council will review options for how the undergrounding fund is prioritized and distributed at an upcoming retreat: "I do feel like a lot of what we spend on is aesthetic. These projects are kind of a combination of that, aesthetic and resiliency." The ordinance was approved on a roll call; the clerk recorded aye votes.

The ordinance uses the city's commercial undergrounding fund and is structured as a phased, block-by-block implementation on Stone Avenue with the first block identified for immediate work. No construction timetable or contractor awards were specified at the meeting. The council did not attach additional conditions to the appropriation at the meeting.