Augusta leaders to break ground on new veterans cemetery

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - After more than two decades of work, officials are breaking ground Friday on a new state veterans cemetery in Augusta.The ceremony is set for 10:30 a.m. at the future site of the Georgia Memorial Veterans Cemetery at Augusta, planned on more than 200 acres behind East Central Regional Hospital on Tobacco Road.The project recently landed a major funding boost from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which announced a record $106.5 million in grants for 21 cemeteries nationwide for Fiscal Year 2026. Of that, $13.6 million is earmarked to help establish the Augusta cemetery, along with up to about $2.1 million for the fabrication and delivery of pre-placed crypts, a key part of the burial infrastructure.Once complete, the Augusta site is expected to become the largest veterans cemetery in Georgia, providing thousands of burial spaces for veterans and their eligible family members in the CSRA and beyond.Local leaders say the cemetery has been roughly 25 year