The wait is finally over for Historic City News readers who live and work in northwest St Johns County and travel into Duval County as the brand new SR-9B from Philips Highway to the I-295 East Beltway opens Thursday.
The northbound lanes are scheduled to open at 10:00 a.m., and the southbound lanes will open later Thursday night after rush hour to repaint the traffic lines at the I-295 transition.
“This new $75 million roadway will help alleviate traffic congestion for motorists traveling between Duval and St Johns counties,” FDOT spokesperson Laurie Sanderson told Historic City News this morning. “The road will open as a four-lane, limited access highway, similar to an interstate, with the ability to expand to six lanes in the future when traffic warrants it.”
To prepare for the opening and completion of the project, nighttime lane closures between US-1 and Baymeadows Road on both northbound and southbound I-295 east are scheduled Wednesday and Thursday from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
The specific lanes being closed will vary depending on the contractor’s operations.
In the meantime, work continues on the second segment of SR-9B from Philips Highway to I-95.
This $95 million project is scheduled to open in summer 2016.
A brief ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held in the southbound lanes at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
Florida Senator Audrey Gibson will be on hand to ceremoniously open the new roadway.
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