DMVS office opens in Evans
The new Columbia County Department of Motor Vehicle Safety office opened in Evans on Tuesday.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Hector Rivera drove from his Augusta home to a new Department of Motor Vehicle Safety office in Evans on Tuesday after hearing about how much quicker his visit might be there instead of at a Richmond County office.
"A friend of mine told me to come here because it's smoother,'' he said.
And on Tuesday, officials and visitors said things went pretty smoothly for the first day of operation for a new DMVS office in Columbia County.
"It's a lot cooler and not as disorganized,'' said Dawn Atkinson, a Burke County resident who was at the Evans office Tuesday to replace a lost driver's license.
The DMVS office moved from its former location at the Evans Government Complex - a site that visitors and officials often complained about because they said it didn't have enough parking or waiting space. On Tuesday, parking spaces were plentiful in front of the new office, next to Omni Health & Fitness off Evans to Locks Road. There also were plenty of open seats inside the office in a waiting area that can seat as many as 60 people.
"It's been a big hit,'' said David Hooker, the center supervisor at the new office. "We're really liking it. The county did a good job on it.''
The project began in December and is designed to offer more room for the DMVS office and more parking space. The new office also offers six testing stations, three more than before in the old office. Hooker said the office has an added station for a worker and a separate break room and bathroom for employees.
He said the new office, which is nearly twice the size of the old one, will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
If you go
- The new office offers six testing stations, three more than before.
- The office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.