State to make Wednesday announcement on Outer Beltway

[iMarvin]

Yeah, I don't see the thing being built anytime soon but I know it will be built. And now that I looked at 301, I don't think it would cost that much to add two lanes from that area up to 95 or US 17.


[/quote]

This is getting ready to start...

US 301 Add lanes from the Duval County line to the four-lane just south of Callahan including replacing the Funk’s Creek Bridge (14 miles). Anderson Columbia Company of Lake City and Horizon/IDA should begin with the design in the Fall of 2011 and finish with the construction in 1,200 days (Fall of 2014) at a cost of $59,559,000.00 (includes adding lanes in Duval County from a point where the future Baldwin bypass intersects to the Nassau County line for a total of 17 miles). (4295511) http://www.dot.state.fl.us/publicinformationoffice/construc/pdf%20files/NASSAU.pdf

Although its a little confusing whether or not its going to be 6' bike lanes on each side or 4 lanes.. And to think they just finished resurfacing this stretch of road in the spring. talk about a waste of money.
[/quote]

Wasting money on projects in this area is the usual. Instead of doing it the right the first time, it has to be done at least twice.

[iMarvin]

I thought this was interesting only 3 comments so far on the TU site about the Outer Beltway announcement and 77 on the streetcar story.

Jacksonvillians love their cars! Although, surprisingly, those 3 are all opposed to it.

[north miami]

We already have US 301 making this path now, so no need for new ROW for a duplicate. 

Lake,we know better.

Brannon Chaffee a Clay Booster Dream since at least the late 60's,solidifying during Bruce Smathers era,General Development,Reinhold aspirations and a host of other corridor development drivers.

[north miami]

Tomorrow will prove fascinating.

We will get a hint as to certain noses that have been under the Alvin Brown Tent.Transportation Committee.

Our own Marty Lanahan,while posted at top State Transportation position last year,advocated for tolls.

[fsujax]

Any new expressway, bridge or added capacity to the highway network needs to be tolled. Plain and simple.

[thelakelander]

I agree.  Might as well try and slow down the level of roadway subsidies we've been handing out over the years.  I'm cool with user fees.

[avonjax]

I thought this was interesting only 3 comments so far on the TU site about the Outer Beltway announcement and 77 on the streetcar story.

Rednecks and the Tea Party are a vocal bunch. The Beltway will benefit the pockets of a few and a Streetcar would benefit thousands of regular citizens so of course  you are going to get a ton of negative comments about the streetcar on the TU site.

[jcjohnpaint]

I still don't know how the outer beltway will help anyone.  Tea Party or no it just seems like the biggest waste of money and resources. 

[thelakelander]

It will help raise the value of land for suburban development in Clay and St. Johns and create short term road construction jobs.  Long term, it will help suck Duval dry and give Clay and St. Johns the same general budget issues we're facing now.

[jcjohnpaint]

yeah short term/ always short term.  We need to infest in the future. 

[tufsu1]

and in the mid-term, it will likely relieve some congestion on Blanding Blvd

[jcjohnpaint]

I still don't see how this is going to relieve traffic on Blanding.  Isn't the proposed stretch too far up and to the west to help Blanding? 

[thelakelander]

Without some direct east/west connections between Argyle Forest and Blanding, I doubt Blanding sees any significant congestion relief by this 15-mile stretch of road.  As jcjohnpaint mentioned, it hits Blanding too far south, unless traveling from Middleburg.  Although Blanding is congested, you'd be better off sitting through congestion instead of driving way out of the way and paying a couple of tolls to do so.  The benefit for Clay County with this baby is clearly a new improved corridor to attract development, most of which will probably come at the expense of Duval.

[thelakelander]

Here's your list of projects being advanced by Rick Scott:

Prasad said "building on the success" of the I-95 toll lanes in Miami Dade County FDOT  will be pursuing new "managed lanes" (MLs) other places in the state:

- I-4 managed lanes in Orlando will be the subject of an investment grade traffic and revenue study to support a start in 2013

- Palmetto Expressway Miami Dade

- I-75 Broward County managed lanes to be part of a P3 RFP

- extension of I-95MLs into Broward County where I-595MLs are currently in construction

Prasad said that Governor Rick Scott was determined to accelerate construction while the private sector had spare capacity and while people and companies were looking for work. They wanted to bring a billion dollars' worth of projects into the current fiscal year. He listed projects to be advanced as:

- US27 Polk County

- I-75 Lee County

- SR9B Duval County

- Quincy By-Pass Gadsden County

- SR79 Public-Private Partnership, Holmes and Washington counties

- I-95 Indian River County

- I-95 Brevard County

- SR823/NW 57 Avenue Miami-Dade County    

- SR50 Hernando County

- Pinellas Bayway, Pinellas County

- Veterans Expressway Hillsborough County

- sections of the Wekiva Parkway, Orange County (construction by late 2012)

- First Coast Outer Beltway Jacksonville, Northeast Florida

- widening of the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike Miami-Dade County

- the widening of the mainline Turnpike in Osceola and Orange counties

- conversion to all-electronic tolling of the mainline of Florida's Turnpike

http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/5432

[thelakelander]

Here's a website for the Branan Field-Chaffee Express



http://www.fdotfirstcoastouterbeltway.com/bfc.asp