by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Let’s clarify a big misconception regarding two of the Better Jacksonville Plan’s major road projects: The overpasses at Atlantic and Kernan boulevards and Beach and Kernan boulevards are very much on the books.
“Those two overpasses were never voted out of the revised Better Jacksonville Plan passed last year,” said Mike Miller, spokesman for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority. “The new work plan calls for interchanges at Kernan and Atlantic and Beach and Atlantic. What they (City Council) eliminated were the Beach and University and Atlantic and University overpasses.”
According to the First Coast Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Web site, the latest traffic counts indicate 45,000 vehicles pass through the Beach and Kernan intersection every day. That’s up from 39,000 in 1997 and a vivid reflection of the growth that has taken place east of Kernan, toward the beaches. The MPO’s Web site doesn’t list a count for Atlantic and Kernan, but it does include one for Atlantic and St. Johns Bluff (65,000 vehicles daily) and Atlantic and San Pablo (57,500).
One of those daily commuters is City Council member Richard Clark, whose district encompasses both intersections. He lives off San Pablo Road and understands why he’s asked about the overpasses at virtually every town hall meeting he conducts.
“We can’t get them built fast enough,” he said. “It is so difficult to get through that area of town.”
JTA will build the overpasses at a combined cost of $85.7 million. At Beach Boulevard, the $43.1 million project will involve creating an overpass that sees Kernan spanning Beach. Both Clark and Miller said this decision was based on traffic studies that indicate more vehicles move north and south through the intersection than east and west. The opposite is true at Atlantic and Kernan, where the $42.6 million overpass will see Atlantic spanning Kernan.
“When we did an interchange evaluation and study, we determined Kernan needed to be widened to six lanes,” said Miller. “Everybody recognizes that Kernan is the next Southside Boulevard. Part of our study showed future traffic patterns, and we determined this was the best way to do it. Atlantic is more of a major corridor and we want to keep traffic moving.”
JTA will send out a request for proposals on both jobs next year, and Miller said the Authority expects to know who will build the overpasses by the fall. He said the overpasses will take two years to build and some of the costs are for land acquisition
“We have an extensive right-of-way we need to purchase, but I am not sure which land or how much,” said Miller.
Clark said he and his constituents recognize both intersections will be construction zones for a couple of years or longer and may be even more difficult to traverse than they are today. However, he said, the end result will be worth the hassle.
“It will be very painful and slow going, but at every meeting and town hall meeting I go to, I am told to do it all at once,” said Clark. “We have to do this now because it goes beyond traffic concerns. It involves ingress and egress and there are safety concerns. It’s not just about rush hour.”
Clark said the only business he knows that will have to be purchased and relocated is the Sprint store and Chevron gas station on the southwest corner of Beach and Kernan.
Clark also said he has been impressed with the Florida Department of Transportation and how it has handled the current widening of Beach Boulevard and the FDOT plans to work with JTA and the City when the overpass projects begin.
“They (FDOT) have been unbelievably responsive with any constituent concerns. They have moved access points and softened turns,” said Clark. “The DOT, JTA and the City have had meeting after meeting about these projects and the best part is they are not going to tear up the brand new road that DOT has built in order to build the overpass. They have really learned to work together.”