The AARoads Blog

Yes, another Texas regional town post from yours truly – this time it’s Paris. I’ve sent up two pages on it at our Texas portal Lonestarroads.com. Go check out Paris, and Paris Regional.

Today’s thoughts involve reflections on the Interstate 95 corridor between Florida and the northeast U.S. The reviled freeway in some cases, Interstate 95 suffers from overrunning by travelers headed to/from Florida, a number that increases significantly every year. Respective DOT’s are trying to keep up with growth with various expansion and interchange projects throughout the 800-mile drive from Daytona Beach northward to Washington, D.C. Profiled below are some of the construction projects we’ve encountered over the last few weeks. 

Interstate 95 is rather docile in Volusia County south of Interstate 4, but north of it is a different story. The influx of traffic from Orlando and its array of resort areas puts a crush of traffic on the freeway between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville. Surprisingly not all of this corridor is yet to six-lane capacity. St. Johns and Volusia Counties are already six-lanes, but Flagler County is not. Therefore crews are out working on the expansion of Interstate 95 to eliminate the bottleneck between Interstate 4 and Interstate 295. From the FDOT website, expansion of the 18.6-mile stretch in Flagler County began on March 14, 2005. Completion date is unclear.

In a related project pertaining to the Interstate 95 corridor, upgrading of the Florida 9A (Future Interstate 295) diamond interchange with Florida 202 (J. Turner Butler Boulevard – JTB) is also underway. Florida 9A provides an eastern bypass of downtown Jacksonville as well as a commuter route for southeast Jacksonville. The substandard interchange between the two freeways is the only thing preventing the eastern beltway from becoming part of the Interstate 295 corridor. Upon completion of the $80.5-million project, high-speed flyovers will shuttle motorists between Interstate 295 and the JTB. Work began in July 2005 with a 2009 completion date anticipated.

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On Friday December 5, 2006, the final leg of the Daniel Webster Western Beltway, otherwise known as Florida 429 Toll, opened to traffic in northern Osceola County. Consisting of a four-lane toll road between Interstate 4 (Exit 60) and U.S. 192 (Exit 6), the latest segment of “The 429″ provides a seamless freeway connection between Interstate 4 and Florida’s Turnpike near Ocoee and U.S. 441 (Orange Blossom Trail) at Apopka. In conjunction with Florida’s Turnpike and Florida 408 Toll (Holland East-West Expressway), Florida 429 Toll provides a western bypass route of the Walt Disney World, International Drive, and Universal Studios resort areas of Interstate 4.

Traveling northbound on Interstate 4 at the new tri-level stack interchange with Florida 429 Toll (Exit 60). I opted for Florida 429 Toll north to Florida’s Turnpike east to Florida 408 Toll east to bypass the traffic congestion associated with Interstate 4’s reconstruction at the U.S. 192 interchange and surrounding areas. Despite $3.25 in tolls, that bypass saved me significant time and gas wasted in idling! Photos taken December 30, 2006.

Heading north from Interstate 4, the first interchange along Florida 429 Toll northbound serves Sinclair Road, a local residential through route. Almost a month after its opening, the interchange (Exit 1A) had yet to open to traffic.

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