Interstate 295 (Florida)

Interstate 295
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-95
Maintained by FDOT
Length:	60.864 mi[1] (97.951 km)
Existed:	1970 – present
Major junctions
Beltway around Jacksonville, Florida
	I-10 I-95 SR 202 SR 9B
Location
Counties:	Duval
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Florida State Highway System Interstate US SR Former Pre-1945 Toll ← SR 294 SR 295 → ← SR 9 SR 9B →

Interstate 295 (I-295), an auxiliary route of Interstate 95, is a beltway around central Jacksonville, Florida. The 60.864 miles (97.951 km)-long beltway consists of two segments, the West Beltway (formerly signed as simply I-295), and the East Beltway (formerly signed as State Road 9A), with I-95 serving as the dividing line between the two. The entire highway carries a hidden designation as State Road 9A by the Florida Department of Transportation.^[2] The West Beltway was constructed in the 1970s, with the East Beltway being built from the 1980s-2000s. Like I-270, I-485, and I-610, the interstate loop never shares its route with another interstate.

Route description

Exit signs at the interchange with Interstate 95, on south I-295. In this picture, the East Beltway is signed as SR 9A.

Beginning at the I-95 interchange in southeastern Duval as the West Beltway, 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 Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Clay county. Before turning north through the Westside of Duval county, the freeway also has a full interchange at east-west connector Collins Road to serve the Argyle and Oak Leaf areas in addition to NASJAX. Continuing north, with full interchanges at SR 134 (103rd Street), SR 208 (Wilson Boulevard), and SR 228 (Normandy Boulevard) Interstate 295, the west half of Jacksonville's Beltway reaches its interchange with Interstate 10 approximately six miles west of Downtown, then crosses over Beaver Street (US 90), a railroad, creek, then continues into Northern Duval.

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 northeast to an interchange at US 1/US 23. The road then crosses the Trout River before crossing SR 104 (Dunn Avenue), where this northern portion of the loop turns east, with interchanges at SR 115, SR 243 (International Airport Boulevard) / Duval Road, and I-95, all just south of the Jacksonville International Airport, where the East Beltway begins.

I-295 at the Buckman Bridge

East of the I-95 interchange near the airport, I-295 continues east as the East Beltway, with the next interchange being US 17. I-295 starts to curve to the southeast, with interchanges at Pulaski Road, and Alta Drive/Yellowbluff Road. Before orienting itself southward at the SR 105 (Zoo Parkway/Heckscher Drive) area, the freeway crosses the Dames Point Bridge over the St. Johns River into the Fort Caroline area. Just south of the bridge, a partial interchange with SR 113 (Southside Connector) in the Regency area is followed by full interchanges with Merrill Road and Monument Road, providing access through Arlington between Jacksonville University and 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, finished in 2008. After interchanges with Gate Parkway and SR 152 (Baymeadows Road) and a partial interchange with SR 9B, I-295 curves to the west, it crosses US 1 before completing the loop at I-95 in south Jacksonville.^[3]

History

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.^[4]

I-295 northbound at the Dames Point Bridge

The eastern section, formerly 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.

The I-295 East Beltway (formerly signed as SR 9A) 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 was no longer able to name the highway.^[5]

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.

On December 4, 2011, the two halves of the Jacksonville beltway changed over to their current designations, the West Beltway (formerly the whole of I-295), and the East Beltway (formerly State Road 9A). The East Beltway was officially given the I-295 designation, making the entire beltway I-295, with State Road 9A remaining the hidden designation for the entire beltway for FDOT purposes.^[6]

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 was completed in December 2013, earlier than the originally projected 2014 date.^[7]

1992 attacks

In 1992, a series of sniper shootings and concrete block- and brick-throwing attacks occurred on the West Beltway. Of the 36 confirmed attacks, "5 [were] shootings from moving vehicles, 15 shootings from overpasses or the side of the road, 15 cases in which concrete, bricks or rocks were thrown at vehicles and 1 instance in which shooting and concrete-throwing were combined."^[8] At least one motorist, William Klinedinst, died after a concrete block landed on the hood of his moving car, causing it to crash; his body was not identified for several weeks. Another motorist, Debra Lewis, received a bullet wound to the face, and several other injuries occurred.^[9] 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.^[8] 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.^[9]

Future

Southbound on I-295 East Beltway at the then-unfinished interchange with SR 9B in southeastern Jacksonville

Extending from the southeast corner of the loop is the future Interstate 795, an approximately 11-mile (18 km) expressway currently signed as State Road 9B. 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 and opened on September 19, 2013. Construction of phase two, which will extend SR 9B from US 1 to I-95, started in May 2013 and is expected to finish in Summer 2016. After phase two is completed, SR 9B will be renamed Interstate 795.

Exit list

The entire route is in Jacksonville, Duval County.

mi[1]	km	Old exit[10]	New exit	Destinations	Notes
60.864– 0.000	97.951– 0.000		61	I-95 (SR 9) – Daytona Beach, Jacksonville	Signed as exits 61A (south) and 61B (north); I-95 exit 337
2.888	4.648	1	3	Old St. Augustine Road
4.689	7.546	2	5	SR 13 (San Jose Boulevard)	Signed as exits 5A (north) and 5B (south) clockwise
5.505– 8.596[11]	8.859– 13.834	Buckman Bridge over the St. Johns River
9.416	15.154	3	10	US 17 (Roosevelt Boulevard / Park Avenue / SR 15)
11.522	18.543	4	12	SR 21 (Blanding Boulevard) / Collins Road
15.738	25.328	5	16	SR 134 (103rd Street)
17.260	27.777	6	17	SR 208 (Wilson Boulevard)
19.224	30.938	7	19	SR 228 (Normandy Boulevard)
20.434	32.885	8	21	I-10 (SR 8) – Jacksonville, Lake City	Signed as exits 21A (east) and 21B (west); I-10 exit 356
22.018	35.435	9	22	Commonwealth Avenue
24.524	39.468	10	25	Pritchard Road
27.481	44.226	11	28	US 1 / US 23 (New Kings Road / SR 15) – Callahan	Signed as exits 28A (south) and 28B (north)
29.816	47.984	12	30	SR 104 (Dunn Avenue)
31.466	50.640	13A	32	SR 115 (Lem Turner Road)
33.127	53.313	13C	33	International Airport Boulevard (SR 243 north) / Duval Road (CR 110)	To Jacksonville International Airport
34.884	56.140	14	35	I-95 (SR 9) – Jacksonville, International Airport, Savannah	Signed as exits 35A (south) and 35B (north); I-95 exit 362
35.705	57.462		36	US 17 (Main Street / SR 5)
37.252	59.951		37	Pulaski Road
39.531	63.619		40	Alta Drive
41.302	66.469		41	SR 105 (Zoo Parkway / Heckscher Drive)
42.665– 44.677[11]	68.663– 71.901	Dames Point Bridge over the St. Johns River
45.170	72.694		45	SR 113 (Southside Connector) / Merrill Road east (SR 116)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
45.588	73.367		46	SR 116 east (Merrill Road / Wonderwood Connector)	Northbound entrance via exit 45
46.727	75.200		47	Monument Road – Naval Station Mayport
48.183	77.543		48	SR 10 (Atlantic Boulevard)
48.749	78.454		49	St. Johns Bluff Road	Northbound exit to northbound St. John's Bluff Road and southbound entrance
50.777	81.718		51	US 90 (Beach Boulevard / SR 212)
52.053	83.771		52	University of North Florida Drive / Town Center Parkway	To University of North Florida and St. Johns Town Center
53.157	85.548		53	SR 202 (Butler Boulevard)
54.336	87.445		54	Gate Parkway
55.719	89.671		56	SR 152 (Baymeadows Road)
57.653	92.784		58	I-795 south to US 1 – St. Augustine	Southbound exit and northbound entrance, opened on September 19, 2013
60.038	96.622		60	US 1 (Philips Highway / SR 5)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

References

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 295 (Florida).

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

Auxiliary routes of Interstate 95 Florida 195 295 395 595 7952 Georgia Business North Carolina 2952 495 795 Business Virginia 195 295 395 495 5951 8951 District of Columbia 295 395 495 695 Maryland 195 295 395 495 5954 695 795 895 Delaware 295 495 8951 Pennsylvania 2952 6953 8953 New Jersey 195 295 4951 6953 8953 New York 295 495 695 895 Connecticut 395 4953 Rhode Island 195 295 8953 Massachusetts 195 295 395 495 6953 8953 Maine 195 295 395 4954 1Former 2Future 3Unbuilt 4Unsigned