Florida State Road 21

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

State Road 21

Length:

57.4 mi^[1] (92.38 km)

North end:

US 17 & Park Street, in Jacksonville

Major
junctions:

SR 134 in Jacksonville

I-295 in Orange Park

SR 224 in Orange Park

SR 23 near Doctors Inlet

SR 16 in Penney Farms

SR 100 in Keystone Heights

SR 26 in Melrose

South end:

SR 20 near Melrose

Florida State and County Roads
< SR 20		SR 22 >

State Road 21 runs mostly in a southwest to northeast direction from Melrose to Jacksonville. It is also known as Blanding Boulevard for much of its length.

[edit] Route description

The Blanding Boulevard segment (Between Jacksonville and Middleburg) is named for the Army National Guard post in Clay County. Blanding Boulevard is four to six lanes from Jacksonville to Middleburg and narrows to two lanes south of SR 16.

SR 21 is one of three routes, along with Roosevelt Boulevard and Branan Field/Chaffee Road (SR 23), that connect Jacksonville with its suburbs in Clay County. Congestion has become a problem over the years as local government works to develop infrastructure for the growing populations of Orange Park and Middleburg. Residents of both Clay County communities rely on Duval County (Jacksonville) for employment. As a result, traffic is heavy during morning and evening rush hour. Clay County officials are working to attract higher-paying, white collar jobs to lessen the need for large numbers of residents to commute.

South of Middleburg, SR 21 narrows to two lanes and passes through rural southwestern Clay County, skirting the eastern boundary of Camp Blanding National Guard Base. The road scales gentle hills and passes several lakes before it enters the community of Keystone Heights. SR 21 then passes through extreme western Putnam County and the town of Melrose before reaching its southern terminus 7 miles south of Melrose, at a junction with SR 20.