The Florida Department of Transportation submitted its structural plans Thursday for the removal of the Hart Bridge Ramps south of TIAA Bank Field.
FDOT’s “Urban Core Riverfront Revitalization & Complete Streets: Hart Bridge Expressway & Talleyrand Connector” will remove the ramp at Liberty Street between Gator Bowl and A. Philip Randolph boulevards, bringing a portion of the expressway to street level.
The proposed $38 million project will remove the physical barrier between parking Lot J near TIAA Bank Field and the Shipyards.
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan has proposed a $2.5 billion redevelopment of both sites, east of Berkman Plaza II to WJCT Studios, and south of Bay Street and Gator Bowl Boulevard to the St. Johns River.
Khan and developer Jacksonville I-C Parcel One Holding Company LLC reached an agreement with the city July 31 on a $233.3 million package of taxpayer-backed incentives for the $450 million Lot J development.
City officials say both the Lot J and the Hart Bridge Ramp demolition are expected to begin in early 2020.
The 425-page FDOT report includes plans for a new roadway alignment extending east from the intersection of East Bay Street and A. Philip Randolph Street. That will flow about 0.2 miles southeast of the intersection of Talleyrand Avenue and East Adams Street.
The new at-grade traffic flow calls for the creation of a 0.7-mile multilane road near the stadium Downtown.
An interchange and widening of the existing Gator Bowl Boulevard are proposed in the documents given to the city. Two new bridge abutments will be constructed at the beginning and end of the project.
Three construction firms submitted bids Aug. 22 for construction engineering and inspection services for the project. The city has not awarded a contract for the project.
A bill authorizing the city to appropriate $12.46 million from an FDOT grant to demolish a portion of the elevated concrete ramp will begin going through the City Council’s committee review process Sept. 3.