St. Augustine city commissioners may endorse proposed beltway

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St. Augustine city commissioners are considering if they will endorse a proposed beltway that would be built around St. Augustine.

The idea was born 14 years ago and has become the city's top road project priority.

The two-part proposal features six lanes that would be called State Road 313 and would run from the existing State Road 312 through State Roads 207 and 16 and connect to U.S. 1.

“Traffic on U.S. 1 is so bad,” Andy Perelman,a St. Augustine neighbor said.

The project dates back to 2004 and has been delayed due to funding and land acquisition.

“These things take time,” St. Augustine mobility manager Reuben Franklin said. “It’s important for St. Augustine with a tourism economy and lot of congestion at peaks time of year to find a way around that congestion.”

FDOT told Action News Jax the only portion of the project that is currently funded is a one-mile stretch between State Road 207 and Holmes Boulevard. This portion only has design funding for 2021 and a projection for construction in 2022.

If the city commission authorizes a letter to the county commission and it’s approved locally, it will be sent to the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization.

Cox Media Group