Transportation officials are planning for future growth of the area, with projects
that will change the way people move around downtown and new highways to move
drivers faster between counties.
Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center
Projections of strong population growth in
Clay County prompted construction of the
new highway, giving county residents easier
connectivity to the surrounding communities.
“This was a need for their community,”
says Hampton Ray of the Florida Department
of Transportation. “We’re seeing some
tremendous growth in the region.”
The first segment of the
46-mile tollway connects I-10
in Jacksonville to Blanding
Boulevard. The second leg will
run from Blanding to State Road
16 at the St. Johns River.
The final leg includes a new
bridge across the river, where the
Shands Bridge currently stands,
with the road connecting to I-95
in St. Johns County.
JACKSONVILLE AND NORTHEAST FLORIDA SPONSORED SECTION 7
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority
(JTA) is creating a new transportation hub,
near the Prime Osborn Convention Center, that
will connect the city bus system with Greyhound
and other intercity bus carriers, as well as future
Amtrak and commuter rail stations.
“The Jacksonville Regional Transportation
Center (JRTC) will become an economic catalyst
for the region and for the many people who
worked to build the regional transportation
networks we use today and rely on for our livelihood,”
says JTA CEO Nat Ford.
The JRTC will also connect to the Ultimate
Urban Circulator, a system that will upgrade the
current Automated Skyway Express rail system to
transport workers and visitors around the city.
JTA envisions using Autonomous Vehicles that
can transport people with peak efficiency along
the Skyway system.
It’s not just downtown Jacksonville that is
changing. Major projects are altering the landscape
throughout the seven-county Northeast Florida
region.
The first leg of the First Coast Expressway, a new
tollway running from the Westside of Jacksonville
through Clay County into St. Johns County, is
opening in 2018.
Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center
First Coast Expressway
Final leg of the First Coast Expressway