What we learned at the May 23 Open House.
I attended the St. Johns River Bridge Open house via their virtual connection on May 23. As I shared in an earlier post, the St. Johns River Bridge, between Clay County and St. Johns County, is an important part of the First Coast Expressway.
First Coast Expressway Blog Post
In many of the new development pitches presented at the St. Johns County Board of Directors meetings, the First Coast Expressway is mentioned as one way traffic will be alleviated in the future.
The St. Johns River Bridge will replace the existing Shands Bridge. Not only is the Shands Bridge our connection to Clay County directly from St. Johns County, many local fishermen (and women) use this bridge for their favorite fishing spot.
Below are some screen grabs with more information about the project. Note the Estimated Completion is 2030. For many of the developments coming before the County Commissioners, they are using this as a data point – development would start after the completion of the First Coast Expressway in 2030.
Project Improvements will include a shared use path on the northbound side of the bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists.
The existing Shands bridge will be demolished and portions repurposed for recreational purposes.
Some notes about the lane closures during construction of the First Coast Expressway.
Here’s a map of the bridge and the connecting Expressway.
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Beth Tate 