Florida State Road 116
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|||||||||
| State Road 116 |
|||||||||
| Maintained by FDOT | |||||||||
| Length: | 7.8 mi[1] (12.55 km) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formed: | 2004 | ||||||||
| East end: |   SR 9A/SR 113 (Southside Connector)/Merrill Road in Jacksonville |
||||||||
| Major junctions: |
 SR A1A in Jacksonville |
||||||||
| North end: |  SR 101 (Mayport Road) in Jacksonville |
||||||||
|
|||||||||
State Road 116 (SR 116) is a Florida State Route], which runs almost due east-west entirely in the northeastern part of Jacksonville's city limits. It runs from an intersection with SR 9A/SR 113 (Southside Connector)/Merrill Road on the east shore of the St. Johns River to an intersection with SR 101 (Mayport Road) just south of Naval Station Mayport. It is sometimes known as Wonderwood Road (the original name of the route from just west of SR A1A to SR 101 (Mayport Road), Wonderwood Expressway, Wonderwood Boulevard, or even Wonderwood Connector, although it is not signed as any of these names. Those names are more prevalent among locals and are not supported by any designated road signage.
Along the route of SR 116, it has major intersections with St. Johns Bluff Road, Monument Road, Kernan Boulevard, and Girvin Road.
SR 116 is known as Wonderwood Boulevard for much of its run through Jacksonville. Sections of the route are known as Merrill Road, Ft. Caroline Road, and McCormick Road, as SR 116 has replaced the route of these roads.
At its western terminus, there are incorrect signs. One reads "Southside Boulevard" with an arrow. The road this is pointing toward is actually SR 113 (Southside Connector), NOT SR 115 (Southside Boulevard). However, one can take SR 113 to get to SR 115. The other sign is for what is signed as a turn for SR 9A North. This is actually still SR 113 North. Due to the construction of the SR 9A and SR 113 bridges, there is not a direct connection from SR 116 or Merrill Road to SR 9A.
[edit] History
Due to rapid growth in the East Arlington/SR 105 (Heckscher Drive) areas, a connection from the I-295/SR 9A corridor to Naval Station Mayport was seen as a great need.
First, traffic for commuters from the rest of the Jacksonville area to the naval base had gotten horrendous over the years due to the Atlantic Boulevard flyover ramp's overuse as the one and only direct route to the base. Sometimes, the back-ups would take hours to clear, and with the rapid growth in the area, combined with the need for another hurricane evacuation route, a new road was a necessity. Second, the base needed a more-direct route from the corridor since it was easy for new people to the area to get lost on previous directions from exits on SR 9A (i.e. SR 10 (Atlantic Boulevard) and Monument Road.
The improvements to -- and subsequent de-facto replacement of -- Merrill Road, Ft. Caroline Road, and McCormick Road occurred in stages. However, these roads are still in use today and are designated by signage still displayed on them.
[edit] Future
The current construction project, segment three, was started July 5, 2006. It officially runs from Wompi Drive (just east of SR 9A) to Monument Road. It includes widening the already existing road from two to four lanes, dividing it with a landscaped median, and adding bike lanes and sidewalks. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008.[2]
There are guide signs being added to the route, such as "MONUMENT RD NEXT SIGNAL". As of April 14, 2008, these signs have been added to St. Johns Bluff Road, Ft. Caroline Road (east intersection), and Monument Road.
[edit] References
 |
This Florida road-related article is a stub. Please help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
