ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla — The wheels are in motion for a big new road that could transform the face of western St. Johns County.
It’s called County Road 2209, and once complete, it could run almost the entire length of the county.
Currently, St. Johns Parkway -- or CR2209 -- exists in St. Johns County. The northern end of the road starts where it hits Racetrack Road, near the Duval County line.
If you take the road south, there’s a beehive of activity where St. Johns Parkway meets County Road 210. Shopping centers, gas stations, and restaurants surround that intersection now.
If you take St. Johns Parkway a few miles farther south, the asphalt eventually ends at Silverleaf Parkway and a “road closed” sign.
St. Johns County announced this month that in January, it will start constructing a 4-mile long, 4-lane extension of County Road 2209.
Greg Caldwell is the county's Public Works Director. He told First Coast News, "There have been a lot of people working on this north-south parallel road to I-95 for quite some time."
Caldwell said the new extension will run from Silverleaf Parkway, past International Golf Parkway. The road signs are already up at that location even though CR 2209 only runs for a half mile right next to Tocoi Creek High School. Then, CR 2209 will be built to continue south another mile or so to State Road 16, just south of where 16 and International Golf Parkway intersect. It's a $32 million extension, mostly paid for with state money, according to county sources.
Caldwell said eventually the plan is to take CR 2209 to CR 204, near Flagler Estates. That would create a road that basically runs the distance of the entire county.
He said the intent is to lessen traffic on I-95.
"I think it will help a lot with the traffic people are having to deal with on a daily basis. It will hopefully reduce some of that traffic on IGP and 16," Caldwell said.
No doubt, some people have concerns that this new road, which will go through undeveloped land or farmland, will bring more people closer to their homes and could have a negative environmental impact.
"We do go through St. Johns River Water Management District and the DEP to make sure we are good stewards of the environment," Caldwell noted. "It’s a balance between having infrastructure to serve people of St. Johns County as well as balance that will not impact the environment as much as possible."
The county expects the construction of this next phase to take two years to complete.