Interstate 295 (Florida)

Interstate 295 (abbreviated as I-295), an auxiliary route of Interstate 95, is a bypass route around central Jacksonville, Florida, which is currently signed on the western half for 35.33 miles (56.86 km). The entire beltway is designated as State Road 9A by the Florida Department of Transportation; however, only the eastern half is signed, as it has not yet been approved as an Interstate Highway.^[1][2] The entire highway is signed as I-295 according to the Florida Official Transportation Map.^[3]

Route description

Interstate 295 is a 60.86 miles (97.94 km)-long full beltway Interstate Highway entirely in Jacksonville, encircling the urban core and neighborhoods of the city. Beginning at the I-95 interchange in southeastern Duval, the beltway travels west, passes through the Mandarin area with interchanges at Old St. Augustine Road, and SR 13 (San Jose Boulevard). It then travels along the three mile Buckman Bridge crossing the St. Johns River immediately south of Naval Air Station Jacksonville, and serves as a major connection in the southern part of Jacksonville. At the western end of the river, I-295 continues west, serving as the border between Clay County and Duval County running just north of the town of Orange Park with interchanges at US 17/SR 15 (Roosevelt Boulevard) and SR 21 (Blanding Boulevard) serving NAS Jacksonville. The freeway then turns north with full interchanges at SR 134 (103rd Street), SR 208 (Wilson Boulevard), and SR 228 (Normandy Boulevard) before reaching the interchange at Interstate 10.

North of the I-10 interchange, the western beltway loops around the northwest side of Jacksonville with full interchanges located at both Commonwealth Avenue and Pritchard Road, before curving northwest to an interchange at US 1/US 23. The road then crosses the Trout River before crossing SR 104 (Dunn Avenue), where the freeway then turns east, with interchanges at SR 115, International Airport Boulevard/Duval Road, and I-95 just south of the Jacksonville International Airport.

East of the I-95 interchange near the airport, I-295 continues east, currently signed as SR 9A, with the next interchange being US 17. SR 9A starts to curve to the southeast, with interchanges at Pulaski Road, Alta Drive/Yellowbluff Road, before orienting itself southward at the SR 105 (Zoo Parkway/Heckscher Drive) in the Fort Caroline area. The freeway then crosses the Dames Point Bridge over the St. Johns River, before continuing south towards more remote areas of the highway. Just south of the bridge, it has a partial interchange with SR 113 (Southside Connector), followed by full interchanges with Merrill Road and Monument Road, providing access to NS Mayport. Continuing south, it has full interchanges with SR 10 (Atlantic Boulevard), St. Johns Bluff Road, US 90/SR 212 (Beach Boulevard) and Town Center Parkway/University of North Florida Drive. The next interchange, J. Turner Butler Boulevard is a freeway to freeway interchange and the last completed interchange on SR 9A, finished in 2008. After interchanges with Gate Parkway and SR 152 (Baymeadows Road) and a planned interchange with the future SR 9B, SR 9A curves to the west, it crosses US 1 before completing the loop at I-95 in south Jacksonville.

The SR 9A section was designated the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway in a Florida Department of Transportation ceremony on August 27, 2009. After the Federal Highway Administration accepted the road as the eastern loop of Interstate 295 in 2010, the state would no longer be able to name the highway.^[4]

History

The first section of I-295 appeared in 1962, but quickly disappeared. The current version of I-295 appeared on maps in 1967, as a loop around central Jacksonville, with the first section between I-95 in south Duval County to SR 134 (exit 16) in 1970, and the section from SR 134 to I-10 opened in 1973. The section from I-10 to Commonwealth Ave. (exit 22) opened in 1975, followed by the extension to I-95 in north Jacksonville in 1977, completing the western section of the loop.^[5]

The eastern section, signed as SR 9A, had its first section open from I-95 in north Jacksonville to US 17 (exit 36) in 1983. The eastern half of the loop was constructed initially as a Super 2 highway with traffic lights in the late 1980s, and was not up to interstate standards. The Dames Point Bridge was signed as I-295 in 1990, but this designation was removed in 1993 and replaced by SR 9A. The final sections of SR 9A were completed in 2006, creating a complete loop around central Jacksonville. Several sections not under interstate compliance were upgraded, and the route was considered interstate ready in 2009.

Sniper incident

In 1992, a series of sniper shootings and concrete block and brick throwing attacks occurred on Interstate 295, resulting in the death of one motorist, William Klinedinst, after a concrete block landed on the hood of his moving car, causing it to crash. Another motorist, Debra Lewis, received a bullet wound to the face, and several other injuries occurred.^[6] The incidents spurred then-governor Lawton Chiles to dispatch the Florida National Guard to patrol the roadway and the American Automobile Association (AAA) to issue a rare travel warning for the interstate and direct its customers to avoid its use.^[7] A task force was set up by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) to investigate the incidents and, though charges were filed, they were eventually dropped. The task force was disbanded at the end of 1992 and the incidents remained unsolved to this day.

Future

Extending from the southeast corner of the loop is planned to be Interstate 795 (SR 9B), an approximately 11-mile (18 km) expressway. In May 2008, the SR 9B project was suspended by the Florida Department of Transportation. The project was reinstated in 2009, and construction of phase one began in June 2010. Construction of phase two, which will extend SR 9B to I-95, is set to start in July 2014. After phase two is completed, SR 9B will be renamed Interstate 795.

Improvements to the I-95 interchange north close by the airport were under construction, new lanes and a flyover ramp were constructed to help improve the interchange. This was completed in late September 2010.

In February 2011, construction began for a new interchange at Collins Road, just west of the congested Blanding Boulevard exit. The $63.4 million project is expected to be complete in 2014.^[8]

Exit list

The entire route is in Jacksonville, Duval County.

References

External links

• I-295 on Kurumi.com
• I-295 Beltway Map