GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. — Drivers in the Jacksonville area will soon have another option to help them bypass the traffic that sometimes clogs Interstate 95 and the 295 Beltway.
Another portion of the First Coast Expressway opens to drivers next week and Action News Jax got a preview on Thursday morning.
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“It starts at U.S. 17 and it stretches all the way down to Leonard C. Taylor Memorial Parkway, and that parkway is right next to the Shands Bridge,” Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) spokesperson Jacob Pickering said.
It also contains a shared path for pedestrians and bicycle access on top of easing congestion on a series of numbered roadways like I-95, I-295, and US 17. The new roadway is two lanes wide in both directions, which FDOT said should handle the expected traffic load.
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But there’s still more work to be done. The final segments of the First Coast Expressway go into St. Johns County, which will connect to the new Shands Bridge.
“That will eventually connect all the way over to I-95 near International Golf Parkway in St. Johns County,” Pickering said.
Pickering said you can expect those portions to open by about 2030.
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Did we mention the First Coast Expressway, also known as State Road 23, isn’t free?
“Sun Pass is the preferred option,” Pickering said. “If you don’t have a Sun Pass though, you can still use the expressway though it is available to take a picture of your plate and send you a bill in the mail instead.”
The brand new segment of Florida’s First Coast Expressway opens to drivers on Monday.
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