After nearly three years of driving through a construction site, motorists using the Overland Bridge on Interstate 95, south of Downtown, will find new travel lanes open Monday morning.
Before the first rush hour of the week begins, all lanes on northbound I-95 from the San Diego Road overpass to just south of the Fuller Warren Bridge will be shifted to the new roadway.
“This is one of the major milestones,” said Ron Tittle, spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation.
The $227 million Overland Bridge project is 78 percent complete, he said, and on schedule to be finished late this year.
In order to implement the shift, traffic will be impacted after the Friday rush hour and until about 6 a.m. Monday.
The Main Street Bridge/Prudential Drive and Acosta Bridge ramps and the Atlantic Boulevard and Philips Highway ramps will close Friday evening.
The ramps will reopen 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday on new roadway and again close overnight.
Traffic on I-95 northbound will be reduced to two lanes Saturday evening. The Atlantic Boulevard and Philips Highway ramps will remain closed with detours.
The same traffic patterns, times and detours will be in effect Sunday.
By Monday morning, three new lanes will be open on I-95, as will the ramps to the Main Street and Acosta bridges.
At no time will traffic be detoured off the interstate. The southbound lanes will not be affected this weekend. Traffic on those lanes will be switched in a few months.
Signs will be placed at key points along the roadway during the transition and the Florida Highway Patrol and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office will monitor and direct traffic during the transition, Tittle said.
The speed limit on the new roadway will remain 45 mph, as it has been since construction began. Motorists are advised to use extra caution during the first few days of the lane shift to allow everyone to become accustomed to the new traffic pattern, Tittle said.
The weekend closures will allow northbound traffic to use the new Overland Bridge earlier than originally scheduled in order for motorists to avoid the maintenance issues that recently have affected the old roadway.
The original structure was designed about 60 years ago, when there was much less traffic along Jacksonville’s expressway system.
“The concrete on the new bridge is a lot thicker,” Tittle said.
The latest lane closure information is available at I95overlandbridge.com.
A project hotline number –– (904) 491-2110 –– has been established to assist the public with questions and concerns.
(904) 356-2466