City workers hitting the ground running as cleanup efforts begin in Aiken

AIKEN, SC. (WJBF)- It’s now been almost three weeks since Hurricane Helene hit our area on both sides of the river.

Driving around downtown Aiken, you still see trees on homes and plenty on the street—but city leaders say that will soon change.

“Since the storm hit on September 27th, we’ve been hard at work. Where we stand now is we are focused on debris cleanup,” said Stuart Bedenbaugh.

The city manager provided an update on the progress at Monday night’s city council meeting.

He says the plan is to divide and conquer with city staff and local contractors.

“Right now, our city staff and related contractors are picking up debris,” he added. “City staff is focusing on parkways and city-maintained streets. The contractor with the county will be assisting us on city-maintained streets and non-state roads, and the state has their own contractor.”

Citizens Park is serving as the only debris drop-off site for work crews, but city leaders expect things to get cleaned up a lot faster than the last major storm.

“Unlike the ice storm 10 years ago where it took 6 months to get the debris, I believe we’ll get it picked up much quicker because we are engaging the assistance of a lot of folks,” said Bedenbaugh.

Last month, NewsChannel 6 learned that Aiken would be closing the Union Street Bridge .

Bedenbaugh says that bridge and the Fairfield Street bridge did not suffer any major damages to his knowledge, and the detours remain usable.

“We will be looking to have a public meeting on the Fairfield Street Bridge in the near future to show the plan for reopening that bridge,” the city manager said. “Ultimately, we will get public input, and then our design review board will make comments and issue approval before work can proceed.”

Aiken will remain in a state of emergency until December 4th.

Until then, Bedenbaugh says the city will look to keep moving forward.

“I’ve seen a lot of progress. From neighbors helping neighbors to volunteer groups. There’s a lot of work left to do, and I think with a coordinated effort with city workers, contractors and volunteers, we’ll get this done in a timely manner,” said Bedenbaugh.

City council also met with the planning commission in a work session to have further discussions about the proposed tiny home ordinance .

Those conversations will continue at the next work session, which is scheduled for Tuesday, November 12th.

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