Florida State Road 23

State Road 23 marker State Road 23 toll marker

State Road 23
Branan Field Road
Cecil Commerce Center Parkway
First Coast Expressway
Route information
Maintained by FDOT
Length 11.395 mi[1] (18.338 km)
Major junctions
South end SR 21 (Blanding Blvd.) near Middleburg
North end I-10 in Jacksonville
Location
Counties Clay, Duval
Highway system
← US 23SR 24 →

State Road 23 (SR 23), also known as the First Coast Expressway, is an outer bypass around the southwest quadrant of Jacksonville. As of 2018, the first phase has been built, linking the Middleburg area to Interstate 10 near Whitehouse. The ultimate plan is for a $1.8 billion, 46.5 miles (74.8 km), four-lane toll expressway continuing southeast to Green Cove Springs and east to Interstate 95 near the World Golf Village.

History

Bridge carrying Plantation Oaks Boulevard over the future expressway in OakLeaf Plantation, built 2010

The plans for connecting I-10 to SR 21 (Blanding Blvd) date back to 1979. SR 23 was originally planned as a toll road by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise to meet those plans, but those plans fell through.

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority and Clay County worked together to connect Branan Field Road in Clay County and Chaffee Road in Duval County. By 2003, the Duval County section was open, and connected south to Branan Field Road in Clay County. By late 2004, the Clay County section was added. Currently the entire route stretches from I-10 in Jacksonville to a point on Branan Field Road north of Middleburg.

The project was formerly known as the First Coast Outer Beltway and the Branan Field-Chaffee Expressway, but its current name is the First Coast Expressway.

Future

The beltway when finished will contain 17 interchanges and a new bridge across the St. Johns River near the current two-lane Shands Bridge.[2]

Funding

Funding for the $1.8 billion project will be competitively bid as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) opportunity for private sector businesses. By using a PPP and innovative contracting solutions, the project will be built years earlier than with traditional contracting methods. The awarded contractor(s) will serve as the concessionaire to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the beltway. The Florida Department of Transportation is currently engaging private contractors in a competitive bidding process. The I-595 Corridor Express PPP with I-595 Express LLC was the first of its kind in Florida, opening years ahead of schedule.[3] The beltway is the largest infrastructure project in Florida History.

In early 2011 the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) abandoned the plan to find a private company to build the entire 46.6 mile beltway and just focus on building the 15 mile section between I-10 and SR 21 (Blanding Blvd). This section is partly built and would need flyovers built and widening done for the expressway to be complete. It is expected to cost around $291 million and would be a tollway.[4]

In August 2011, the FDOT announced that the Florida's Turnpike Enterprise will be taking on the $291 million project of turning the 15-mile stretch into a tollway. Construction started on September 10, 2012 and set to be completed in fall 2018.

Construction on the second phase of the expressway, from SR 21 (Blanding Blvd) to Green Cove Springs, is expected to start around January 2019. The third and final phase of the project, which includes expansion of the Shands Bridge, is anticipated to start in 2023.[5]

Tolling

According to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), all tolls will be done electronically and compatible with SunPass used in other parts of the state with no toll booths. There will be two exceptions to the tollroad. The 3-mile (4.8 km) section between I-10 and New World Avenue will not be tolled to help promote growth in the Cecil Commerce Center. Also people living around the Shands Bridge area will be exempt from tolls on the Shands Bridge crossing the St. Johns River.[6]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
St. Johns​ I-95 (SR 9) – Jacksonville, Daytona Beachfuture interchange (to be connected with Interstate 795), I-95 exit 333
SilverLeaf Plantation CR 2209 (St. Johns Parkway)future interchange
​ To CR 16A / CR 210 / CR 244 (Longleaf Pine Parkway)future interchange
St. Johns RiverShands Bridge
Clay​ US 17 (SR 15) – Palatka, Green Cove Springsfuture interchange
​ SR 16 – Penney Farms, Green Cove Springsfuture interchange
​ CR 218future interchange
Lake Asbury CR 739 (Henley Road)future interchange
​ SR 21 (Blanding Boulevard) – Middleburg, Orange Parkfuture interchange
​ CR 220A (Old Jennings Road)future interchange (southbound exit and northbound entrance)
​Trail Ridge Roadfuture interchange (southbound exit and northbound entrance)
​0.0000.000south end of state maintenance
OakLeaf Plantation0.1970.317Oakleaf Plantation Parkwayfuture interchange
Duval2.7644.448Argyle Forest Boulevard / Oakleaf Plantation Parkwayfuture interchange
Jacksonville6.38010.268 SR 134 (103rd Street) – Macclennyfuture interchange
6.59910.620Chaffee Road (CR 115C north)to be closed in the future
7.79812.550 SR 228 (Normandy Boulevard) – FSCJ Cecil Center, Cecil Field, Equestrian Centerfuture interchange
9.20214.809New World Avenue - FSCJ Cecil Center, Cecil Field, Equestrian Centerfuture interchange
11.39518.338 I-10 (SR 8) to I-295 / I-95 – Jacksonville, Lake CityI-10 exit 350
US 90 (SR 10) – Baldwin, Whitehousefuture interchange
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Unopened

References

  1. 1 2 FDOT straight line diagrams Archived March 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine., accessed March 2014
  2. ↑ First Coast Outer Beltway plan sheets
  3. ↑ "Crist touts outer beltway in Clay County speech". Clay Today. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
  4. ↑ Florida Times-Union http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/400669/larry-hannan/2011-08-15/state-make-wednesday-announcement-outer-beltway?cid=hp-topnews. Retrieved August 15, 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ Johnson, Scott. "State funds $763M to replace Shands Bridge, extend beltway". WJXT.
  6. ↑ "Outer Beltway around Cecil Commerce Center will not be tolled". Florida Times-Union. Jacksonville, FL. Archived from the original on 2017-11-98. Retrieved April 2, 2010. Check date values in: |archivedate= (help)
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