The AARoads Blog

Update on the Branan Field-Chaffee Expressway, well not much has changed, construction has progressed a little on the future freeway connector and interchange between Florida 23 and Interstate 10. This scene however, looks identical to December 2007. Touted as Segment 2 of the overall project, work began January 16, 2007 and is expected to be completed by next fall.

For those who have wondered, it appears that U.S. 23 still ends at U.S. 1 & 17. Signage posted on U.S. 1 & 17 (Main Street) south at State Street includes U.S. 23 shields and a new U.S. 23 shield assembly is posted along State Street west of Laura Street.

The Southside Connector freeway is now fully open to traffic, including the interchange with Florida 115 (Arlington Expressway) at Regency Square Mall. The freeway provides a direct connection from Florida 9A (Dames Point Bridge) southbound to the Arlington Expressway for interests to central Jacksonville.

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The first ramp of the new Interstate 4 and Florida 408 Toll interchange opened this morning, carrying drivers from the eastbound toll road to the northbound freeway. A $120 million project is underway to replace some of the original movements between the East-West Tollway and Interstate 4. Included in this initial project is a new flyover to carry westbound Florida 408 to eastbound Interstate 4, the directional loop ramp that opened today, and a new Anderson Road overpass and connecting ramps. Work on these projects will be completed between Spring and Fall of 2008.

Two new diagrammatical overheads partition drivers bound for Interstate 4 into separate ramps from eastbound Florida 408 Toll. Previously all traffic departed in unison via a trumpet interchange onto a connecting roadway before choosing east or west Interstate 4 at a second trumpet. The configuration is typical for older toll roads, where a toll plaza would reside between the two trumpet interchanges.

Traffic destined for Interstate 4 east now departs via the new Exit 10B off-ramp.

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An update on the Maitland Boulevard Extension / John Land Apopka Expressway (Florida 414 Toll). Nine miles of new freeway style roadway is either proposed or under construction from U.S. 441 in Lockhart to U.S. 441 northwest of Apopka. One year of work has produced significant results in northwestern Orange County. A tour of the work follows below:

A refresher view of the John Land Apopka Expressway projected path.

U.S. 441 (Orange Blossom Trail) northbound at junction Florida 414 (Maitland Boulevard), where the new John Land Apopka Expressway will begin. Work broke ground on January 19, 2007 on the first 5.5 miles of the new toll road. Work here focuses on the building of a partial-cloverleaf interchange with U.S. 441. A set of span wire traffic lights hang in the distance, for when crews shift Florida 414 onto the future westbound off-ramp so construction on the Apopka Expressway overpasses can begin.

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One of the newest freeways planned in Florida is that of the Branan Field-Chaffee Expressway, State Road 23. Running north-south between Florida 21 (Blanding Boulevard) and Interstate 10, the four-lane freeway is presently either under construction or in the design stages. Beginning in Middleburg, a two-lane surface highway leads north from Blanding Boulevard to the Clay County line. Portions of this roadway lie within or along the freeway right-of-way, other sections will be bypassed by a new four-lane alignment. Interchanges planned include those with Florida 21, the future College Drive North extension, and Argyle Forest Boulevard near the county line.

Branan Field Road (future Florida 23) northbound at the Duval County line. Presently the roadway carries two lanes of traffic between Florida 21 (Blanding Boulevard) and Argyle Forest Boulevard. Signs along the two-lane portion reference the Limited Access Right of Way and list (904)360-5200 as the number to call for information.

Northward into Duval County, Florida 23 exists partly as a two-lane roadway, partly as a controlled-access expressway, and partly as a new alignment currently under construction. Signed Florida 23 follows Chaffee Road northward to Florida 134 (103rd Street). Beyond the intersection with 103rd Street, Florida 23 veers northwest onto a new alignment, presently under construction, to Interstate 10 and U.S. 90. The planned Duval County four-lane freeway includes interchanges with Florida 228 (Normandy Boulevard), New World Avenue, Interstate 10, and U.S. 90.

Florida 23 northbound reassurance marker, the first of two, posted after the signalized intersection with Argyle Forest Boulevard east and Oakleaf Plantation Parkway west. Four-laning of this portion of expressway awaits the completion of interchanges.

The overall project represents the northern leg of the proposed First Coast Outer Beltway, a freeway/tollway project linking Interstate 10 in west Duval County with Interstate 95 in St. Johns County. Florida 23′s south end will transition into the beltway as it turns east toward a crossing of the St. Johns River. The east-west portion of highway will likely be funded with tolls.

In 2001, a two-lane roadway opened between Florida 21 (Blanding Boulevard) and Florida 134 (103rd Street). This roadway included portions of pre-existing Branan Field Road in Clay County and links directly with Chaffee Road north of 103rd Street. Widening of the roadway between Argyle Forest Boulevard and 103rd Street followed, bringing the highway up to a four-lane controlled-access expressway.

Florida 23 (Chaffee Road) northbound at the beginning of construction for the new alignment northwest to Interstate 10. The two to four lane alignment travels through the former Cecil Field Naval Air Station en route to Interstate 10; Chaffee Road continues otherwise to its own diamond interchange with the freeway.

Work commenced on January 16, 2007 on the northernmost portions of the Branan Field-Chaffee Expressway project. Elements of this work include the building of a two-lane roadway linking Florida 23 north of Florida 134 with New World Drive, and a four-lane roadway between New World Drive and the new interchange with Interstate 10. Work on this 4.8-mile segment is slated for completion in fall 2009. Additional work will four-lane the new Florida 23 between New World Drive and Florida 104, creating a four-lane at-grade controlled-access expressway from Interstate 10 to Argyle Forest Boulevard. Future four-laning of the current roadway leading southward into Clay County is planned, but these elements and the four-laning between New World Drive and Florida 104 remain unfunded at this time.

Interchanges along the eventual freeway are planned for beyond the time it takes to four-lane the Florida 23 alignment.

This past weekend afforded me with the opportunity to check on the status of some upper Gulf Coast road projects related to the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The August 29, 2005 landfall of the historic storm not only devastated the New Orleans and Mississippi coastal area homes and businesses, but also washed out several key stretches of highway infrastructure. Included in the storm’s fury was the destruction of the U.S. 90 spans over both Biloxi Bay at Ocean Springs and St. Louis Bay and the collapse of the Interstate 10 twin spans over Lake Pontchartrain. Now over two years removed, recovery efforts are well underway!

Beginning in the east, the U.S. 90 Ocean Springs Bridge is finally open to traffic after 18 months of work. Initially opened to traffic on November 1, 2007, the bridge presently carries two lanes of traffic on a span that eventually will accommodate six lanes and a pedestrian/bicycle path. The span travels much higher than the original four-lane crossing, thus negating the need for a draw-span. See MDOT’s BiloxiBayBridge page for more details on the construction, which is slated for completion on April 16, 2008, with a full bridge opening on March 28, 2008. Work began on June 16, 2006.

U.S. 90 first spans the CSX Railroad line over an arm of the Old Fort Bayou before ascending along the high-level Biloxi Bay Bridge. Features of the new span include a retro-style guard rail and light yellow paint motif.

Continuing west, the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina becomes increasingly evident as one leaves Biloxi and enters Gulfport, Long Beach, and Pass Christian. Presently crews are repaving the U.S. 90 roadway, which remains somewhat bumpy after the Hurricane.

Some new development has occurred on the stretch, but much of it remains abandoned or clear of any structures. One such structure that was replaced is the St. Louis Bay Bridge of U.S. 90. Crews opened half of the eventual four-lane bridge on May 17, 2007, linking the city of Bay St. Louis with Pass Christian. As of December 10, 2007, the span still carries two-lanes and a 12-foot pedestrian/bicycle path.

U.S. 90 westbound on the St. Louis Bay Bridge – December 10, 2007. Traffic shifted from the completed eastbound lanes onto the westbound lanes on November 26, 2007 so that contractors could finish the final elements of the bridge including lighting, signs, and railing.

Construction on the St. Louis Bay Bridge commenced on June 7, 2006, just three months after demolition began on the remnants of the original span. U.S. 90 originally traveled along a two four-lane draw bridge, but with an 85 foot clearance on the new span, motorists will not longer suffer delays from marine traffic below. The $266.8 million project is near completion.

U.S. 90 remains a somewhat lonely road from its partition with Mississippi 607 in western Hancock County. Continuing from there through the Pearlington area, a series of truss, lift, and pony truss bridges carry the two-lane highway through bayou country. Once U.S. 90 nears the Rigolets, a waterway that joins Lake Pontchartrain to the west with Lake Borgne to the east, another bridge project is well underway. Crossing the Rigolets is the narrow two-lane Fort Pike Bridge, a truss with a swing span first opened to traffic in 1930.

The stretch of U.S. 90 suffered damaged due to Katrina’s storm surge, however the bridge suffered limited damage structurally (but major damage to its electrical system). LADOTD’s replacement project of the aging span was already underway when Hurricane Katrina made landfall. However contractors working on the span were pulled away from the project for emergency repairs to the Interstate 10 bridges over Escambia Bay after Hurricane Ivan.

Looking east at the original Fort Pike Bridge and its future replacement at the Rigolets in eastern Orleans Parish.

A three-year construction project is underway to build a 5,500-long span with a 70 foot clearance. No longer will motorists experience anxiety when crossing the waterway on 10 feet lanes as the new bridge will carry two 12 foot lanes with 12 foot shoulders. Work began on the $50.6-million project November 2004 with an expected completion by June 2008.

Another of the three crossings between Orleans and St. Tammany Parish is that of the twin bridges of Interstate 10 over Lake Pontchartrain. These, like those of Interstate 10′s crossing of Escambia Bay in Florida, suffered the same fate of the U.S. 90 bridges in Mississippi with storm surges higher than the bridge itself toppling the concrete decks into the lake waters below. For a short time period, there was no Interstate 10 crossing between New Orleans and Slidell, with the narrow U.S. 11 bridge carrying the entire load. However an interim solution arose that salvaged submerged bridge deck components in conjunction with temporary metal-deck trusses.

Currently Interstate 10 traffic still utilizes a combination of the original bridges and those temporary metal trusses, similar to what travelers endured for several years at Pensacola. Construction is well underway however on the eventual replacement of the original four lane crossing with a much higher set of three lane bridges along the eastbound side. Costing $800-million, the twin-span replacement project will result in bridges ranging between 15 and 28 feet higher than the original bridges. Opening of the future westbound bridge is expected by late 2009. That span will carry four lanes of travel as crews work on the two-year completion of the new eastbound bridge.

Spanning Interstate 10 along U.S. 11 at Irish Bayou. Work on the Interstate 10 replacement spans is still in the early stages.

Four overall lanes of traffic are still accommodated along the 1965-built bridges. When the westbound bridge opens in 2009, demolition will begin on the original spans.

In related news, crews put the finishing touches on the new westbound bridge carrying Interstate 10 across Escambia Bay this week (December 12, 2007). Work was planned for completion by Christmas, but now cross country travelers and commuters alike will reap the benefits of the three-year $245-million construction job done in the wake of Hurricane Ivan. The new spans travel 25 feet higher than original shoulder less two-lane bridges. Drivers may now safely span Escambia Bay along three overall lanes per direction that includes shoulders on both the inside and outside lanes.

A look at the Escambia Bay Bridge project just four days prior to the opening of the new westbound bridge. Portions of the original bridge are being used to create an artificial reef in the offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

As it stands now, the bridge carries six overall lanes across the bay. Eastbound traffic reduces to two lanes once reaching land in Santa Rosa County. The third westbound lane becomes exit-only for the U.S. 90 (Exit 17) folded-diamond interchange. It is expected that Interstate 10 will be widened to six-lanes overall between Exit 17 and Exit 13 (Florida 291 / Davis Highway) in the near future.

Sources:

Reconstruction Of The Bay St. Louis Bridge - MDOT

“Top Louisiana Construction Projects (2005),” McGraw-Hill Construction.

“Gov reopens I-10 bridge.” Pensacola News Journal, December 12, 2007.

Steven Delery sends us a photo of new overheads installed on the Central Florida Greeneway northbound for Florida 408 Toll (East-West Expressway). New Clearview signs are generally located on the eastern outskirts of Orlando. This particular assembly replaced these signs.

A recent trip from Florida to Biloxi shed some light on new and ongoing construction projects throughout the upper Gulf Coast. First, a widening project is well underway now along Interstate 10 through the Tallahassee area. Dubbed “Moving I-10 Forward”, the work involves widening the freeway between milepost 194 and Exit 202, reconstructing the U.S. 27 half-cloverleaf interchange with more graceful ramps, and adding new ramps between Interstate 10 and U.S. 319 opposite the existing diamond interchange with Florida 61. Work began in the Fall of 2006 and will last through mid-2009. See http://www.movingi-10forward.com/ for project details, design schematics, and schedule.

Drivers along congested U.S. 319 northbound soon will be provided with a direct on-ramp to Interstate 10 west. Presently, motorists must maneuver onto adjacent Florida 61 to access Interstate 10 at the nearby diamond interchange; A flyover from the separation of U.S. 319 south from Florida 61 south complicates the adjacent intersection. Photo taken July 13, 2007.

Further west, I finally had the opportunity to travel across the “Crooked Bridge” over Escambia Bay. The Escambia Bay Bridges of Interstate 10 took a beating during September 2004′s Hurricane Ivan. Many segments of the bridge deck were toppled into the Bay or destroyed. Road work commenced soon after on temporarily reopening the ailing spans and the construction of their replacement. The first of two “Crooked Bridges” opened earlier this year and now carries four lanes of overall traffic. Crews continue building the future westbound span while also dismantling the original twin spans.

Traveling the new “Crooked Bridge” of Interstate 10 westbound over Escambia Bay at Pensacola. A good portion of the deck for the future westbound-only span is complete nearby; further away crews continue on the removal of the original twin spans. Photo taken July 13, 2007.

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Like the Polk County Widening, our highway guides for Interstate 4 throughout Florida are complete. Added were photos showing the new Exit 60 interchange with Florida 429 Toll (Daniel Webster Western Beltway), widening underway in Volusia County, completed widening in Polk, the new viaducts and carriageways in Tampa, and every east and westbound exit.

http://www.southeastroads.com/i-004_fl.html

Work still continues on Interstate 4 at the U.S. 192 interchange in northern Osceola and with the future stack interchange at the East-West Expressway in downtown Orlando. Future projects along the freeway include a redesign of the Colonial Drive (U.S. 17-92 & Florida 50) and Maitland Boulevard (Florida 414) interchanges among others and the building of a new interchange with the Crosstown Expressway Connector in Tampa.

My co-worker Mark mentioned that in a recent Pinellas County Planning Organization meeting, the concept of upgrading the planned freeway of Bryan Dairy Road (Pinellas County 296), between Interstate 275 and U.S. 19 in St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park, Florida as Interstate 475. He says it was mentioned two or three times in the meeting. I’ve not found anything on their website to confirm this, nor can I find any planning documents yet. But here’s your heads up!

Why it would be an even-numbered Interstate is beyond me, but it would tie directly into the upgraded U.S. 19 freeway, which is presently under construction between Pinellas County 611 (49th Street North) and Ulmerton Road (Florida 688). A look at MyUS19.com reveals a planned SPUI for the intersection of U.S. 19 and Pinellas County 296, so that would not provide a seamless freeway to freeway connection between the two freeways.

I’ll post more if/when I find out more.

Construction began January 19, 2007 on the newest toll facility in the greater Orlando metropolitan area, that of the John Land Apopka Expressway (Maitland Boulevard Extension). Planned since the late 1990s initially as a free arterial route, the highway became under the jurisdiction of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority when funding was unavailable for the original Maitland Boulevard extension. Design work is now complete on the 5.5-mile long Stage 1 and work is underway on building a tolled freeway from U.S. 441 (Orange Blossom Trail) west to Florida 429 Toll (Daniel Webster Western Beltway).

Elements of the project include an upgrade of the current Florida 414 (Maitland Boulevard) intersection with U.S. 441 into a partial-cloverleaf interchange, a new interchange to Keene Avenue and a drastic relocation of Florida 429 Toll to tie into Florida 414 Toll, all in anticipation of the eventual Wekiva Parkway project to the north. Work on Stage 1 of the $425 million project should be completed by 2009 with an expected 26,000 to 38,000 motorists per day using the tolled facility.

The planned path of Florida 414 Toll (John Land Apopka Expressway) and the shift of the Florida 429 Toll mainline to reflect its eventual path onto the Wekiva Parkway (north of U.S. 441). Florida 414 Toll & 429 Toll will share a four-mile overlap for continuation purposes involving motorists using Florida 414 Toll to bypass U.S. 441 through downtown Apopka. Old Florida 429 Toll north of Florida 414 Toll becomes Florida 451 when the Apopka Expressway is complete.

Stage 2 of the project continues Florida 414 Toll northwest with Florida 429 Toll to U.S. 441 near Orange county 437 (Plymouth Sorrento Road), completing the nine-mile project. Originally work on Stage 2 was to coincide with work on Stage 1, however funding presently is unavailable due to current toll revenue projections expected by OOCEA.

Once Stage 1 is completed, Florida 429 Toll will meet Florida 414 Toll at a new interchange west of the present half-diamond interchange with Orange County 437A (Ocoee-Apopka Road). The shift to the northwest allows Florida 429 Toll to join Florida 414 Toll on the northwestern trajectory to U.S. 441 at Plymouth Sorrento Road.

Originally Florida 429 Toll was to continue across the present alignment north of U.S. 441. Redesign of the Wekiva Parkway section of toll road, the missing northwest loop of the overall Orlando Beltway system, required Florida 429 Toll to follow a new path along the Florida 414 Toll routing between Ocoee-Apopka Road and U.S 441 (Orange Blossom Trail) at Plymouth Sorrento Road. Funding and the exact path of the Wekiva Parkway are still unclear at this time, however the consensus is that it will extend north of Florida 414 & 429 Toll’s planned north end at U.S. 441 on its journey to Interstate 4 near Sanford.

Relocation of Florida 429 Toll that ties it into the John Land Apopka Expressway will orphan a segment of existing Daniel Webster Western Beltway near the Exit 30 interchange with Ocoee-Apopka Road. That section and interchange will be demolished and a new diamond interchange with Orange County 437A will be built to the south. The segment of existing Florida 429 Toll north of Florida 414 Toll will become newly designated Florida 451 Toll once Stage 2 is completed.