Video from Jacksonville.com
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1329229943/bclid1315822163/bctid1416866621
Picture as of January 2008 ( http://i295florida.com/i295/ )
(http://i295florida.com/upload/gallery/197/originals/433400.jpg)
* Project is 88% complete
* Should be complete by Fall 2008
* Will rebrand 9A as East I-295
complete by this Fall? They must be ahead of schedule.
It's beautiful! Maybe this can be Peyton's legacy project?
Quote from: Lunican on February 15, 2008, 07:16:19 AM
It's beautiful! Maybe this can be Peyton's legacy project?
Perfect!!! A project he had absolutely nothing to do with!! Yep!! That would be Peyton's Legacy - projects *cough-courthouse* that he has responsibility for don't happen. as costs go up and up. A project he has no connection to (except as he drives through it on has way in to City Hall from PV) comes in (apparently) well ahead of schedule!
Good idea Lunican.
It is pretty perfect. This project embodies everything Peyton stands for: southside, road building, fuel, and concrete. Would anyone mind if he takes credit? I don't mind.
Who said we don't have hurricanes in Jacksonville?
I-295E Oh hell, I sort of figured his would be the new I-210W... It has all of the requirements, JTA, Fuel, Cars, Oil, Concrete, PLUS it's like WAY OUT THERE MAN! Just like ???
Ocklawaha
that picture is freaking hilarious. i can see the engineers sitting around early one morning drinking coffee..."hey, i've got an idea...CIRCLES!"
The interchange is really a thing of beauty. A standard diamond shape exit ramp system with lights won't work due to traffic control lights backing up the freeways. I-95N and Edgewood is an example.
Cloverleaf's that were once the be-all and save-all of freeways have a dangerous collision zone built in where traffic is merging in and out in the same lanes and a very short distance. I-95 Southbound lanes and 20Th St/MLK is at least the dangerous 1/2 of one of these interchanges.
Flyovers or other fancy interchanges flow well but by taking the shortest route this often means coming into the freeways in the fast lanes, I-295/I-10 uses this system.
The JTB - I-295E interchange won't have any of these problems, it will be nice to look at and I can't wait to see the numbers from it, flow, accidents etc... I'm betting it's going to be great.
Ocklawaha
Quote from: thelakelander on February 15, 2008, 01:05:07 AM
complete by this Fall? They must be ahead of schedule.
Yes, by almost a year and a half. They get a 3K bonus for every day that they complete it early. The extra lanes from Kernan to San Pablo that will make JTB 7 lanes is already 33% complete; and they were not supposed to be done until Fall 2009. I guess they really want those bonuses, huh? The weather has been nice enough to allow construction practically every day though.
No lights when making a transition from JTB to 9A, Traffic will move really well transitioning, less crashes....I hate it! ;)
I can't wait to run a few laps on this thing. It would be nice to see this interchange become the model for all others.
QuoteJTB Ramp to 9A South to Open Monday
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- A new ramp off J.Turner Butler Boulevard will open on Monday that will make travel a lot easier around the Southside of Jacksonville.
The flyover ramp from JTB westbound to S.R. 9A southbound will open after rush hour next Monday, July 28th. This will eliminate the last traffic signal on S.R. 9A and will eliminate a traffic bottleneck as travelers on 9A will no longer be stopped to let traffic exit from JTB to 9A South.
The 9A northbound ramp to JTB westbound will open early to mid-August and the 9A southbound ramp to JTB eastbound will open in late August or early September.
It is possible the tentative ramp opening schedule could change slightly depending on weather or unforeseen developments in the field.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/news-article.aspx?storyid=114485 (http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/news-article.aspx?storyid=114485)
A brief sigh of relief, and then focus on I-95 and JTB comes up next. Now THAT will be a cluster f*ck like no other.
Quote from: reednavy on July 23, 2008, 03:36:10 PM
A brief sigh of relief, and then focus on I-95 and JTB comes up next. Now THAT will be a cluster f*ck like no other.
More than it already is?? :D
Almost anything at that site would be an improvement from what there is now. I've seen the conceptuals, and all of them look equally daunting to accomplish. It'll be mighty painful to get through, but hopefully there'll be a noticeable difference when it's done. Doesn't necessarily mean I'm looking forward to the construction phase... Ugh.
Hopefully they'll fix the Belfort RD exit, bring it up to intersate grade, and label JTB as a SPUR interstate!
The ramp opening will mean no more traffic lights on 9a.
Doesn't that effectively "end" 9A? I thought that it will now become a continuous I295 beltway.
Correct. 9A is aready being relabeled "I295-East Beltway" and the old I295 is the "West Beltway".
From what I've heard, JTB is not built to federal interstate standards and is not in the running to become a spur.
What all do they need to do to get a SPUR designation? I know reconfiguring the 95 and Belfort RD interchanges will be done, and I think that is it. Maybe the Southsie BLVD may be the only one left. Out side of that, it is all up to grade.
You may be right. The interchanges could be the weak points. I'm not sure what all it takes to get the designation. The I95/JTB interchange is already slated for re-build and is in the design process right now.
The onyl issues I see are the I-95, Belfort, and Southside interchanges/exits. Other than that, everything is probably up to grade, the exception could be the Intracoastal/Ditch Bridge, man that think is like an amusement ride!
The Florida Times-Union
July 25, 2008
Gas costs could take road toll
By LARRY HANNAN,
The Times-Union
The high price of gas could end up stalling some major construction projects planned for the next few years.
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Florida is looking at a potential $500 million shortfall in transportation funding in 2009 if a federal highway transportation fund doesn't get a money infusion. The fund provides money to state governments to pay for road construction through a tax on gasoline.
About $1.8 billion of the Florida Department of Transportation's $8.4 billion budget this year came from the Highway Trust Fund.
The fund is supposed to have about $40 billion a year. But there is a shortfall of about $3.3 billion for 2009, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget.
The fund relies on an 18.3-cent tax on each gallon of gas sold in the country and a 24.3-cents-a-gallon diesel fuel tax.
With consumers cutting back on gas purchases, the fund isn't seeing the anticipated revenue.
U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., said he expects the shortfall to increase to between $5 billion and $6 billion when the White House releases new estimates this month. That would drive up the shortfall in Florida as well.
Mica, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, pushed legislation that would transfer $8 billion from the general fund into the Highway Transportation Fund.
That legislation passed the House on Wednesday by a vote of 387-37. It must still be approved by the Senate, and it is unclear when that will happen.
Raiding the general fund is not something Congress wants to do, but there might not be much choice, Mica said.
If the shortfall isn't closed, major road-related construction projects will be delayed or scrapped, he said.
The transfer appears to have bipartisian support. U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., voted in favor of the transfer. Brown is a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The fear is that about 20,000 construction jobs in Florida could be lost if the shortfall is not funded, said Brown's legislative director, Nick Martinelli.
Funding the shortfall for 2009 will not solve the underlying problem, though. Gas consumption is not expected to increase as long as fuel prices are high, which means another funding source for the trust fund must be identified for the future.
It is unclear how Northeast Florida would be affected. Florida Department of Transportation District Secretary Charles Baldwin said officials are monitoring the situation and hope Congress finds a way to cover the shortfall.
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority does not get funds directly from the federal transportation fund, but it does get some money from the state transportation department that might be threatened.
Steve Arrington, JTA director of resource development, said it's impossible to determine how the authority would be impacted if the shortfall isn't funded.
Northeast Florida already dodged a funding bullet this year when the Legislature made $500 million in cuts to the state transportation budget. The only local project affected was the first phase of construction of Florida 9B from U.S. 1 to Florida 9A. The start of that $170 million project was delayed from 2012 to 2013.
larry.hannan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4470
Projects at stake
Among the Northeast Florida projects that could be affected by a $3.3 billion shortfall in the federal Highway Trust Fund:
STARTING ROAD DATE, COST:
Heckscher Drive widening from Drummond Point to August Drive, 2009, $28 million
Interstate 10 widening to six lanes from Interstate 295 to Branan Field-Chaffee Road, 2009, $78 million
Beach Boulevard widening from Hodges Boulevard to San Pablo Road, 2011, $29 million
Interstate 95 bridge replacement at Southampton Road and Hendricks Avenue, 2012, $87 million
Interstate 10 Marietta interchange relocation, 2012, $61 million
Florida 9B from U.S. 1 to Florida 9A, 2013, $170 million
Source: Florida Department of Transportation
This story can be found on Jacksonville.com at http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/072508/met_309337971.shtml.
Quote
Florida 9B from U.S. 1 to Florida 9A, 2013, $170 million
Well hell, let's save $170 million for something more important right there - and NOT build freakin 9B for no apparent reason.
Quote from: Doctor_K on July 25, 2008, 09:53:14 AM
Quote
Florida 9B from U.S. 1 to Florida 9A, 2013, $170 million
Well hell, let's save $170 million for something more important right there - and NOT build freakin 9B for no apparent reason.
It's not for no reason. We need more subdivisions, Targets and Chili's.
Quote
It's not for no reason. We need more subdivisions, Targets and Chili's.
Right! And to make sacrifices at the Altar of Our Lady of the Almighty Suburban Sprawl! Led by the most reverend High Priest Peyton!
Thank you for setting me straight, copperfiend! ;D
Mayor Peyton isn't the only one bent over by suburban sprawl, St. Johns county is right there next to him letting the tract home developers give it to them right.
St. Johns has the money lined up to start purchasing right of way and is in the design phase of their portion as we speak.
Look at the proposed outer beltway. It goes through undeveloped land in lower Clay County.
I know I dug this outta the woodwork, but it needs it.
Leave it up to FDOT to f*ck up something more than it already was. The ramp to JTB east from 9A/295 north is poorly planned, if that. A lot of JTB eastbound traffic exits at Kernan, and the onramp smacks right into the EXIT ONLY lane.
Then to also make it a two lane onramp to JTB, only to ahve it merged into one then hit the Kernan exit only lane is jsut retarded, absolutely retarded. Has FDOT ever heard of left onramps, because most people are trying to floor it though there anyways and would make a helluva lot more sense.
Alright, enough of my rant. Anyone else think this was just a stupid decision?
I think most of those Mixing Bowl's on-ramps are too short or poorly planned.
9A South to JTB West onramp simultaneously off-ramp for Gate Parkway; at least there's a little more breathing space there.
JTB Eastbound to 9A Northbound onramp ends abruptly to make way for the ramp from JTB Westbound to 9A northbound, which simultaneously is the UNF/Town Center off-ramp. Less than half a mile. That's the one I deal with every day. Good times trying to merge left onto 9A northbound just to turn around and get back over to exit at UNF/SJTC.
Whee!
Yeah, that JTB E to 9A N ramp is going to get someone killed, I've seen it almost happen twice. Aren't on ramps supposed to allow you to get up to speed? Hell, you have to start flooring it coming out of the bowl to get up to speed and hope for an opening.
Poor planning all around at that interchange. Let's hope they do better with JTB and 95. Oh, who am I kidding, we're talking about FDOT.
JTA is in charge of JTB/95. At least they made McDuff look nicer....
Quote from: mtraininjax on December 11, 2009, 03:34:42 PM
JTA is in charge of JTB/95. At least they made McDuff look nicer....
Oh, now that really says a lot.
QuoteOh, now that really says a lot.
No really, you should drive down McDuff from Post North to Beaver, its amazing what they can sometimes do. It is 1000% better than what it used to be.
Very true, that, but it took them YEARS! I think there was a lot of utility upgrade and relocation going on around that project that extended the time required.
Mt, I was refering to them doing the JTB/9A bowl, not surprising they did a horrible job. If they're trying to upgrade it to turn it into a Interstate spur, they're not doing a good job.
Reed - I agree, but my biggest beef is not with FDOT, JTA or their contractors, mine is with the idiots and I think idiots is being nice, who sit in the left lane going the speed limit, while we find a lane to the right to pass.
I drive from Avondale to Pritchard then back to the Southside every day. Without fear, I-10 East is full of some of the dumbest drivers on the planet. If you wish me pain, you found it, seems someone keeps putting drivers older than dirt in the left lane, or their texting, or applying makeup or getting a little something-something, I don't know, but its crazy. 95 North and South has traffic moving much better, but its I-10 East that is my daily plague. Not to mention FDOT, I guess I will, has contractors who tear up I-10 east to leave it worse off than when they started. Drive over their handywork and it will break your teeth.
mt, I think the drivers on I-10 East are partially paralyzed with fear that, overnight, the lanes for various directions at I-10/I-95 will have been rearranged again.
You want a laugh if you have a GPS? Set a direction that will take you from I-10 to I-95 in any direction. DON'T follow the directions from the GPS, but follow the correct lanes. You can almost hear the frustration in the little lady's voice as she repeats "RECALCULATING" over and over.
Yes, I am easily entertained! LOL!
QuoteYes, I am easily entertained! LOL!
Me too. LOL!