I-95 and FL202 Upgrades - JT Butler Boulevard

[edwaleni]

After years of backups, complaints and just plain poor planning, FDOT is currently upgrading the I-95 / FL-202 Interchange to modern standards this year.

FL-202 (JT Butler Boulevard) was originally built as a tollroad in the 1990's to get express traffic to and from the beaches to I-95. (Tolls were eventually eliminated)

The concept was conceived in the 1950's as a new express route between downtown Jacksonville and the Beaches area. This was to relieve the only 2 arterials between the two heavily traveled areas.  US90 (Beach Boulevard) and FL-10 and ALT US90 (Atlantic Boulevard).  After Hurricane Dora exposed problems with population evacuation, movement on getting an express route picked up steam.

The original thought was that the new FL202 would travel west from the Duval/St Johns County line, cross the Intercoastal and then turn northwest in an area near Southside Boulevard (FL-115) to connect with the planned Commodore Point Expressway which would cross the St John's River into downtown Jacksonville.  Problems occurred because many of the neighborhoods the route encompassed were already populated with pre-WW2 developments.  Because of this, the Commodore Point Expressway was turned east and merged with US90 (Beach Boulevard). At that time in the 1970's, that was considered the farthest reach of Jacksonville southeast of the river.

Meanwhile FL-202 then turned west at Southside and took over the Belfort Road ROW and intersected with I-95 taking over what was originally designed as a rural style flyover/exit. Then the funds stopped flowing.

For years the FL-202/I-95 exit stayed a rural flyover while FDOT made small tactical changes to deal with accidents and traffic flow. They already owned all the needed ROW to US-1 (Philips Highway). Even FDOT and DOT maps show FL-202 as a FHWA type highway from FL-A1A until Pottsburg Creek where it degraded to an arterial and eventually into a bastardized over loaded rural exit.

Queue to today.

FDOT is now reconstructing the intersection into a form that supports the level of traffic and type of travel to road supports.

http://www.nflroads.com/_layouts/FDOT%20D2%20Northeast%20Florida%20Road%20Construction/ProjectDetails.aspx?pid=268&sid=All

A new flyover that will allow southbound I-95 traffic to access FL-202 east is under construction along will all new bridges for I-95 that will support the entry/exit paths.







Once done, FL-202 will be a FHWA style highway completely from I-95 to FL-A1A. Will it be resigned? Probably not.

[jwolfer]

It would be cool to have I-995!

When i first started University of North Florida in 1990. The exit was a diamond. JTB( J Turner Butler Blvd) has a traffic light at Belfort Rd and median openings to SR115.

It opened as a toll road in 1979 with 2 lanes over Intercoadtal, the current WB bridge... The 2nd ICW span opened in 1987

LGMS428

[The Ghostbuster]

If we were to give FL 202 a Fictional Highways number, I'd vote we make it an extension of Interstate 10, so it would truly be a coast-to-coast Interstate.

[plain]

If we were to give FL 202 a Fictional Highways number, I'd vote we make it an extension of Interstate 10, so it would truly be a coast-to-coast Interstate.

That's not a bad idea. And I never knew that road was tolled

[Alex]

If we were to give FL 202 a Fictional Highways number, I'd vote we make it an extension of Interstate 10, so it would truly be a coast-to-coast Interstate.

That's not a bad idea. And I never knew that road was tolled

We have a map showing the tolled section on the site at https://www.aaroads.com/guide.php?page=s0202fl

I like the I-10 extension concept as well, but from a purely road enthusiast take.

[emory]

It would be cool to have I-995!

When i first started University of North Florida in 1990. The exit was a diamond. JTB( J Turner Butler Blvd) has a traffic light at Belfort Rd and median openings to SR115.

It opened as a toll road in 1979 with 2 lanes over Intercoadtal, the current WB bridge... The 2nd ICW span opened in 1987

LGMS428

I'd like it to be an interstate as well if it could, just because I want to see more links from A1A/the beaches to the Interstate Highway System. Florida has two right now, and also one other non-interstate expressway that connects it. I guess I-595 counts too, even though that area is a port rather than a beach.