CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Clay County officials proposed a new road project that will save commuters time and help first responders.
Officials conducted a study for alternative ways to connect Cheswick Oaks Avenue to Oakleaf Plantation Parkway.
Terry Shaw of the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization said the project is needed because that portion of the county has grown by 12% over the last 10 years.
He also said it can be a challenge for first responders.
“It creates a situation where to the north about two and a half miles of Argyle Forest is the nearest east-west corridor and you have to go all the way down to Old Jennings Road so access for emergency services...to reach hospitals and other important services are limited,” Schall said in a presentation.
He explained that if you were on Cheswick Oaks Avenue at the south end of the corridor and you want to go to the Oakleaf Plantation, it’s just over a mile by air, but it’s a seven-and-a-half-mile drive.
Locals like Amarery Sanders who was out with his son said this could help.
“I think it would be good, because you’ve got everyone staying over here just to avoid accidents that happen on the road. People end up taking the tolls and I feel it backs everything up,” Sanders said.
Edward Harper said it would make it easier to get to the other side of Oakleaf Plantation.
“You have to make 2 miles and make a loop just to get back to our house,” Harper said.
People on one side of the project like the proposed changes. But, people on the other side have concerns about heavy traffic.
Three alternative routes are being evaluated to mitigate environmental concerns. They are also proposing two travel lanes in each direction and a shared-use outside lane for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Richard Smith is a Clay County engineer and he said the next step is getting $100 million from the TPO.
“It’s the planning organization that helps the four counties of Northeast Florida procure money from state and federal levels. It will be a long, politically driven process,” Smith said.
Oakleaf residents who would be impacted by this new road are encouraged to attend county commission meetings and speak on the issue.