Many residents in northern St. Johns County commute to jobs in Jacksonville and many of those use Interstate 95, as do other travelers passing through.
St. Johns County residents drive to Jacksonville for shopping, entertainment and medical services.
People also are traveling from Duval County and beyond to northern St. Johns County for its increasing choices in shopping and employment as well as its highly ranked school district and tourist attractions.
That’s why transportation improvements are a priority, especially in the northwest part of the county where residential growth is strong.
St. Johns County officials Phong Nguyen, director of the Transportation Development Division, and Jay Brawley, county engineer, provided updates about transportation improvements underway and planned in the next five years in the northwest portion of the county.
Two roadway projects are under construction by the Silverleaf Development of Regional Impact:
• County Road 2209, also known as the St. Johns Parkway extension, a four-lane road from County Road 210 to Silverleaf Parkway as a parallel corridor to relieve congestion on I-95, linking Florida 9B to the future First Coast Expressway.
• Silverleaf Parkway, a new four-lane road from County Road 2209 to the intersection of Florida 16 and County Road 16A.
Both projects are scheduled for completion in 2020 at a combined cost of $63 million.
Two roadway segments of County Road 210 are under construction by the Twin Creeks Development of Regional Impact:
• County Road 210, an expansion of a two-lane road to four lanes from east of CE Wilson Road to the Twin Creeks western boundary.
• County Road 210, an expansion of the two-lane road to six lanes from the Twin Creeks western boundary to County Road 210 West (Alternate 210), between the Beachwalk and Beacon Lake communities.
Both projects are scheduled for completion in 2022 at a cost of more than $15 million.
Also, the expansion of County Road 210 to a four-lane full interchange overpass, connecting to U.S. 1, will start after 2022. The project is designed and permit-ready.
• Widening Veterans Parkway to four lanes from Race Track Road to Longleaf Pine Parkway at a cost of $7 million.
• Widening Longleaf Pine Parkway to four lanes from Veterans Parkway to Tollerton Avenue at a cost of $3 million.
Lennar, ICI and Greenbriar Downs and Mill Creek Forest collectively or individually will pay for the Veterans and Longleaf Pine parkway improvements.
• Rebuilding and widening to four lanes 2.25 miles of County Road 210 West from Cimarrone Boulevard to Greenbriar Road, west of Shearwater Parkway, with intersection improvements. It is a more than $20 million project as part of the Shearwater DRI.
• Widening Florida 16 to four lanes from County Road 16A from Silverleaf Parkway to St. James Avenue. It will be paid for by the Florida Department of Transportation.
• Widening Florida 16 to four lanes from International Golf Parkway and Pacetti Road to San Giacomo Road at the MuraBella development. It’s a $5.5 million project
• Widening Florida 16 to four lanes from San Giacomo Road for 3 miles east near Orient Drive. It’s a $15 million project. Grand Oaks will pay for the improvements.
• Improving the Florida 16 and I-95 interchange by widening from four to six lanes within the interchange limits, reconfiguring the interchange, adding turn lanes and directional islands and making signal improvements to Tom’s Road and Inman Road.
• Completion of the First Coast Expressway from Shands Bridge in Clay County to I-95 in St. Johns County, including a four-lane bridge replacement crossing the St. Johns River. It is the third and final section of the First Coast Expressway around Jacksonville to provide a connection from I-10 in Duval County to I-95 in St. Johns County.
• Widening I-95 to 10 lanes from International Golf Parkway to the Duval County line.
The projects are estimated at $800 million and completion is anticipated in 2030.