ORANGE PARK, Fla. – Local and state leaders, along with engineers, are going to give updates Wednesday on the various construction projects along the First Coast Expressway.
It is a part of the ninth annual First Coast Expressway Summit being held at the Thrasher-Horne Center on the campus of St. Johns River State College. The meeting starts at 9:30 a.m.
The focus is 2030, which is the projected year when all of the construction is expected to be done.
Work on the expressway stretches 46 miles from I-10 in Duval County, through Clay and to I-95 in St. Johns County.
Clay County Economic Development Corporation is hosting the summit to reveal how all of the construction is going to help with mobility and handle growth in the counties.
FDOT is among several agencies giving updates on work being done.
It is overseeing five different projects. One of them is north in Clay County from Blanding Boulevard to north of State Road 16, which is expected to be done by this summer.
Sara Pleasants, FDOT’s community outreach specialist, says these projects are crucial to handling the demand in the participating areas.
“This is such a big project for Clay County,” Pleasants said. “It means a lot to the businesses. Clay County has seen just a ton of residential growth in the last 10 to 15 years and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. The First Coast Expressway is going to be a really important piece of infrastructure for people trying to get around the county as well as getting to work in Jacksonville or St. Johns County. It is really important in terms of mobility for the residents that are there as well as you know kind of the future growth.”
Other work being done is the new St. Johns River bridge being built which is projected to be completed by 2030.
Crawford Powell, the president of the Clay County Economic Development Corporation, says the expansions on the roadways are shifts to drive more companies to Clay County.
“Our focus is trying to create the opportunity for companies to relocate in Clay and create jobs for so many of the residents of Clay County who work outside of the county,” he said. “We’re trying to work with companies to create jobs and opportunities here in Clay, so you can truly live work and play here in Clay County.”
All with hopes to do that within the next five years.