State Road 9B Opens To Traffic

[If_I_Loved_you]

Future I-795? I wonder: Will this connect with The Outer Beltway? I thought that was in some of the plans?
It should be interesting to drive on the spur!

Google maps calls this new road 795/9B?

[thelakelander]

It won't be I-795 until it's fully complete.  Sort of like what happened with 9A.

[copperfiend]

I won't lie. I used it yesterday afternoon and this morning. And it saved me about 10-15 minutes each time.

[John P]

I cant wait to ride this new highway. It will be nice to see little shops spring up along the highway as I drive out and pay my property taxes in another county.

[fsujax]

Meanwhile in my neighborhood the yearly tidal flooding has set in. Streets underwater and rain just makes it worse. We have money to build these things, but no money to repair/replace our crumbling urban core infrastructure.

[fsquid]

Meanwhile in my neighborhood the yearly tidal flooding has set in. Streets underwater and rain just makes it worse. We have money to build these things, but no money to repair/replace our crumbling urban core infrastructure.

Isn't that two different funding sources?

[fsujax]

Yes. One is DOT/Federal funding the other is City. Point being the priorities are wrong.

[thelakelander]

I cant wait to ride this new highway. It will be nice to see little shops spring up along the highway as I drive out and pay my property taxes in another county.

You should get to see that very soon.  Unfortunately, I don't believe there's enough density allowed along the corridor to equal out the money it will take the state to build and maintain it long term.  There won't be any noticeable impact in the short term but I suspect long term, the state's budget issues will continue to get worse (since this type of thing is done all across the state).  For COJ, we'll have to hope that the amount of tax revenue generated will come close to covering the cost of other services needed to support future development in the area.  With that said, I noticed there's a new fire station under construction in Bartram Park now.  That would be an example of one of the long term support services COJ taxpayers will be on the hook for.

[coredumped]

Who would be in charge of putting a greenway alongside of it? It seems like now would be the time to do something like this. Like the Suncoast Trail in North Tampa:


Google map link: http://goo.gl/maps/gWcgw

[thelakelander]

We've probably missed that boat.  The Suncoast Parkway is an example of a limited-access facility that would qualify as a "complete street."

A parallel trail is something that's best put into the initial design process.  That way, the trail could have been integrated with the roadway at bridge crossings, like it is with the Suncoast Parkway.   

[Bill Hoff]

In 2025 we'll have "Jax 2045", where a visioning session will recommend a nice bike & pedestrian path along the road.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Does anyone have the actual numbers on how much money it made today?

You know, since the rest of the public transportation is supposed to, I figured that they would be posting profit statements immediately to show us how smart they are.

[Clem1029]

Took 9B both ways on my commute today...the morning was wonderful time-wise, probably shaved 15 minutes off my drive. The afternoon was a different story. At 5:15PM there was already a 1.5 mile backup that took a half hour to get through...it actually took me longer to get home with the new "short cut" route than it did previously getting off at Phillips and 295. Did they even do a remote traffic study on this route?

That said, there are some obvious constraints on the southbound side that cause those backups. Due to the construction around there for phase 2, what is supposed to be 4 off-ramp lanes (two left, one straight/right, one right) is down to two - one left, one straight/right. Needless to say this causes a number of problems - one straight/right (straight onto Gran Bay) means that a train instantly causes a backup. Also, with the vast majority of traffic on that route going southbound, only one left turn lane is unsustainable. A 1.5 mile backup of a 2+ mile road extension is insane - I have to wonder if FDOT opted to open this far sooner than was reasonable with the phase 2 limitations around the road.

It will probably get better over time as the intersection gets to where it is designed to be, but the afternoon traffic was disappointing in the extreme. The morning helps, so maybe everyone just flexes their time to leave earlier in the afternoon.

[thelakelander]

Does anyone have the actual numbers on how much money it made today?

You know, since the rest of the public transportation is supposed to, I figured that they would be posting profit statements immediately to show us how smart they are.

Zero. Maybe we will have better luck tomorrow.

It will probably get better over time as the intersection gets to where it is designed to be, but the afternoon traffic was disappointing in the extreme. The morning helps, so maybe everyone just flexes their time to leave earlier in the afternoon.

This should go away once Phases 2 and 3 are complete. Most of that Southbound traffic will go to I-95 and Race Track Road instead of Philips.

[Ocklawaha]

Future I-795? I wonder: Will this connect with The Outer Beltway? I thought that was in some of the plans?
It should be interesting to drive on the spur!

In all seriousness, as a transportation guy, the studies supposedly demonstrated that this thing when connected to I-95 will be a reliever for container traffic coming out of the port moving south. You'll recall the JAXPORT-DISNEY deal and there could easily be a rat in the works. For me the jury is still out on this 'thing.'

IF (A big if) they had any sense at all, rather then eventual/probable duplication of FREEways from the Shands bridge and the new beltway, they would aim this thing for Greenbriar road, dodge the houses, cross the river and come back on shore  by the parkway on Fleming Island... Screw the Shands bridge and the utter destruction of Green Cove's golden property.

Think about it, the old Lee Field Naval Air Station has 5,000 foot runways, one aligns so traffic comes down the center of the river (away from houses) and exits over the 12,000 acre Bayard Conservation Area. The East-West runway approaches over the river on the east and exits over Dairy farms. Now the thing to consider is this property sits on a river port that once hosted 400 ships (not boats - SHIPS). Add to this that unlike Cecil and NAS the old Navy railroad is intact and serves a handful of industries. THINK CLAY! Barge-Rail-Air-Highway, and to cut off the possibility of extending those runways with the stupid beltway  to 8,000 feet is criminal.

Huntsville Alabama, has done exactly this and is laughing all the way to the bank. Imagine this 4 way intermodal center between Jacksonville-Gainesville-Orlando and Daytona Beach. I don't think there is another property in Florida with such close knit possibilities.

HUNTSVILLE INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS CENTER - Not as good as the Green Cove Opportunities


In 2007, Polar's parent company, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc., formed a long-term strategic alliance with DHL Express. As the owner of a 49% equity interest in Polar, DHL Express secured access to capacity on Polar's 747-400 freighter services, combining DHL's leading position in Asia with Polar's unique access on U.S.-Asia routes and industry-leading services and support.


Atlas Air, the newest carrier HUNTSVILLE-HONG KONG


HUNTSVILLE INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS CENTER - Any wonder Toyota located there?


GREEN COVE SPRINGS - Better then Huntsville - Opportunities as big as JACKSONVILLE - Green Cove Opportunity Squandered - murdered by the beltway?

Green Cove Springs East-West runway could be expanded to 8,000 feet, enough for 737's/DC-9 aircraft. The North-South runway could be extended south 15,000 feet... but we'll need a stop sign on the Beltway at 5,003 feet.