Augusta officials are directing residents to use the city’s 311 system to report non-emergency road hazards during and after this weekend’s winter storm.
What’s Happening: Augusta 311 accepts reports of road hazards including icy roadways, downed trees, traffic signal malfunctions, flooding, potholes, and debris. Residents can report hazards through the MyAugusta 311 mobile app, the Augusta 311 web portal, by dialing 311 from local phones in Richmond County, or by calling 706-821-2300 from outside Richmond County.
What’s Important: The system handles non-emergency reports only. Life-threatening situations or injuries require a 911 call. Augusta officials say reporting hazards helps response crews address issues quickly.
What You Can Report: The 311 system accepts reports of icy or slick roadways including black ice, snow or ice buildup on streets or bridges, traffic signal malfunctions, streetlights not working, downed trees or large limbs blocking roadways, downed power lines, flooding on roads from melting ice or rain, blocked storm drains causing water backup, sinkholes or road collapses, potholes caused by freezing and thawing, washed-out road shoulders or medians, damaged guardrails, signs or traffic barriers, debris in roadways, trash or debris service issues caused by the storm, sewage backups, water outages, power outages, and requests for public safety assistance that are not emergencies.
Reporting Guidelines: Augusta officials ask residents to include the exact location and a brief description when reporting hazards. Reports should be made when it is safe to do so. Residents should not approach downed power lines.
The Storm: A winter storm watch is in effect for Richmond County and surrounding areas from late Friday night through Monday morning. The National Weather Service forecasts freezing rain and sleet with ice accumulations of 0.25 to 1 inch and sleet amounts up to 1 inch. Travel could become very difficult or impossible and power outages are expected.
ON SNOWPOCALYPSE:
“Like most metro Atlanta residents at the time, I dismissed the warnings and scoffed at the meteorologists who cried “snow” at the drop of a thermometer. After all, in Atlanta, snow forecasts are as reliable as Hollywood marriages. The reflexive grocery stampedes for bread, milk, and eggs seemed like a seasonal ritual more for omelet enthusiasts than survivalists.”
