Jacksonville FL — If your ride this weekend, or next, takes you over the Buckman Bridge into Orange Park be prepared to deal with lane closures at certain times of the day. The Florida Department of Transportation says crews will have different closures on I-295 Northbound starting Saturday at 9:30 AM until Monday at 5 AM. Below is a breakdown of how many lanes will be closed at which times.
• Single lane closures will be in place on Saturday, January 8, from 9:30 a.m. until 8 p.m.
• Double lane closures will be in place on Saturday, January 8, from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m.
• Triple lane closures will be in place on Saturday, January 8, from 11 p.m. until Sunday, January 9 at 11 a.m.
• Double lane closures will be in place on Sunday, January 9, from 11 a.m. until Monday, January 10 at 5 a.m.
Hampton Ray with FDOT says crews will be working to restripe the bridge and shift traffic to its final configuration. Ray says with restriping, crews will be widening lanes from 11 ft. back to 12 ft.
“So you’ll feel a little bit more comfy on the bridge when you’re driving over it”. Ray says.
In addition to the lane closures, FDOT says the on-ramp from San Jose Boulevard to I-295 North will be closed from Saturday morning at 9:30 AM until 11 AM Sunday. Your alternate to get onto the West Beltway will be Old St. Augustine Road.
“There’s gonna be lots of signage, they’ll be law enforcement officers present throughout the entire duration of the operation”. Ray says.
You can expect to see the same pattern of lane closures for the following weekend. (January 15-17th)
These improvements on the Buckman are part of a project to bring enhanced signage, new overhead electronic boards, and more cameras on the bridge in several locations. We’re told the project is expected to be completed early this year.