Augusta Street's Holiday Open House Ends Two Hours Before the Night Crews Arrive

"This is our most challenging undergrounding project that we have done, but we're very excited about it," Greenville Engineering Services Director Clint Link told the Greenville Journal the week before crews started. "We just need a little bit of time to get it done."

He meant about a year. Since Oct. 12, the commercial stretch of Augusta Street from Lupo Street to Melville Avenue has worked two shifts. Businesses and shoppers have the street during the day. Crews burying power and communication lines have it from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. The Augusta Road Business Association's Holiday Open House, a tradition on the street since the 1980s, falls on Sunday, Nov. 15, from 1 to 5 p.m. The whole event ends two hours before the night shift begins.

This season, what's open on Augusta Street depends more on the hour than on the date.

How the Day Divides

According to the city's project FAQ, crews work 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., Monday through Sunday, and drivers should expect lanes to shift. Driveways into businesses stay open during business hours, and most of the work happens overnight.

The night shift doesn't mean a closed road every night. Link told WYFF 4 that closures are not guaranteed nightly. He also said detours and lane shifts may appear over the next year, and the city has to keep the corridor's businesses reachable. WSPA reported that most of the construction sits in the roadway. Some of it reaches into sidewalks and side streets, where transformers and switchgear go. Closures are marked with detour signs.

The Afternoon Belongs to the Open House

On Nov. 15, the daytime shift works as it always has. The association's 2026 participant list includes 24 businesses:

• Gifts, home and garden: The Elephant's Trunk, The Nested Fig Garden, The Nested Fig Home, Greenbrier Cottage, Paisley & Paper, Palmetto Olive Oil Co., Shops of Provence, The Rock House Antiques, Westside Market
• Clothing, shoes and resale: Twill, Muse Shoe Studio, Kate Carlyle, Harringtons, Labels Designer Resale, Bella Bridesmaids, Vann & Liv, Roan, Savvy, The Boys
• Jewelry: Danielle Miller Jewelry, Ponthieux's Jewelry Design Studio
• Services and food: Augusta Road Aesthetics, Augusta Road Animal Hospital, Jersey Mike's

Several of them share an address. The association's directory puts Twill, The Elephant's Trunk and Muse Shoe Studio at 2222 Augusta Street. The Nested Fig Garden is listed at 2235, and Palmetto Olive Oil at 2247. That clustering suits an afternoon on foot. The association invites shoppers to start at one end of Augusta Street and work toward the other.

This year's Open House also collects donations. Participating businesses that have room for bins will collect nonperishable food for Harvest Hope, plus winter coats and clothing for local free closets. The association says it will post the drop-off locations online closer to the event. Santa will appear at several stops during the afternoon, and families are encouraged to bring phones or cameras.

At 5 p.m. the Open House is over, and the crews don't arrive until 7.

After 7, the Clocks Overlap

Holiday dinners and errands are where the shifts meet. Tacozzini, at 1818 Augusta Street, Suite 120, lists hours until 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, until 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and until 9 p.m. on Sunday. Jersey Mike's, in Suite 106 of the same building, lists daily hours of 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Both kitchens stay open for two or three hours after crews start.

Augusta Street Pizza is up at 2222 Augusta Street, the same address as several Open House shops. The Greenville Journal's Weekly Dish covered its Roman-style pizza and meatballs when it announced the restaurant's December 2025 soft opening.

The rules that protect daytime access still apply in the evening. The city has to keep businesses reachable, and detours are designed to get drivers to them. On a given December night, though, the trip to dinner might include a lane shift or a signed detour that wasn't there the week before. The Journal also reported that nearby residents may hear construction noise for the length of the project.

For the power itself, WSPA reported that existing service stays on until the new underground system is ready. According to the city, the only planned outages come when Duke Energy switches each business from overhead to underground service. Businesses get advance notice, and Duke can work with each one to schedule a convenient time. That planning gives shops some control over timing during their busiest weeks.

Why the Poles Are Coming Down

The night work has a long history behind it. When Greenville created its utility undergrounding program in 2009, it named Augusta Street the top corridor for burying overhead lines. In a 2023 Greenville Journal report, the street south of Mills Avenue was described as a narrow four-lane road. It has many driveways and business entrances, and its poles stand close to passing traffic. The same report counted 11 utility-pole collisions on Augusta Street from 2016 through 2020: three in the commercial section and eight in the residential section.

Link told WYFF 4 that about 20,000 vehicles use Augusta Street every day. He said the poles limit drivers' view and that some drivers clip them with side mirrors or hit them outright. Will Brassington, the Greenville County Council member whose district includes the project, pointed WYFF 4 to resilience. "That was another instance where we experienced extended power outage," he said of Hurricane Helene. He called the project "largely about resiliency."

Crews have already cleaned up the overhead lines along the residential section of Augusta Street. Phase one is the first work on the commercial section.

What the Street Looks Like When the Shifts End

The work happens in a set order. Carolina Conduit Systems is installing the underground duct bank, which is expected to be done by mid-summer 2027. Then Duke Energy and the communication providers move their lines underground and remove the poles. New pedestrian lights and overhead street lights follow, and Augusta Street gets resurfaced and restriped. WSPA reported that the project adds 36 pedestrian and street lights.

WYFF 4 reported phase one at $8.3 million, paid for with state funds, Duke Energy money and city funds. The South Carolina General Assembly put $5.8 million toward it in the fiscal year 2023-24 budget.

On that schedule, this is the only holiday season the Lupo-to-Melville stretch spends fully under the night shift. Next November, the poles may already be gone and new lights may line the corridor. Phase two will follow, extending the work south toward West Faris Road. City staff are finishing engineering plans and securing easements for that phase.

For updates, the city's weekly Week in Review newsletter arrives by text when you send "GVLthisWeek" to 866-874-2232. It covers citywide news, Augusta Street included.

Whether you're planning a holiday afternoon on Augusta Street or wondering how a year of overnight work and a finished, pole-free corridor fit your plans in the Augusta Road area, we'd love to talk it through with you. Kiersten Bell + Co knows this stretch by daylight and by detour. Let's Connect.