What Makes Up the ARTS?
The Augusta Regional Transportation Study (ARTS) requires involvement by policy makers, technical staff, and citizens in order to address the various aspects of the transportation planning process.
The Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission, recognized as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), in cooperation with the
Georgia Department of Transportation and the
South Carolina Department of Transportation, is responsible for carrying out the transportation planning process. The Study itself is arranged in a
four-committees organizational structure to insure proper participation of those whose involvement is required in the Study.
The ARTS Edgefield and Aiken counties includes the urbanized portions of
Aiken County, South Carolina, and
Columbia and Richmond Counties in Georgia. In 1982, the original ARTS area was expanded to include the
City of Aiken and the connecting corridor from Aiken to Augusta, which were added to the Augusta urbanized area by the 1980 Census.
Although all portions of the area have representation on the three committees, in the past, the level of activity has been much greater within the boundaries of the original study area. Due to increasing transportation needs in the expanded ARTS area, a complete database was recently developed for the entire ARTS area and the models have also been expanded to include the entire area.