CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — It’s a plan that could give drivers at one of the county’s busiest crossroads a shortcut.
It’s called a quadrant intersection, and it could solve an intersection problem that’s becoming a headache in Clay County.
If you’ve tried to make a right turn at a light, but a car in front of you was going straight, this quadrant intersection could solve that problem.
Few words sum up Calandra Phoenix’s trip from her home to work at Salon RX, a hair salon she owns located at the corner of CR 220 and Henley Road.
“This intersection is chaos…[I feel] animosity, its no longer a joyful ride to go seven minutes to work anymore," Phoenix said.
Her business experiences traffic firsthand.
“We constantly have traffic going through here cutting through the parking lot,”
Both commuters and Clay County leaders are taking notice.
County Commissioner Mike Cella says that by 2040, this traditional intersection will be clogged with congestion.
One study by FDOT says it could take as long as nine minutes to get through the light if changes are not made.
That change could be this quadrant intersection.
Early designs show that travelers can turn right from County Road 220 onto the two-lane by-pass road and access Henley Road without going through the main intersection.
Phoenix feels it’s a change that’s needed—but she thinks drivers also need to be cautious.
“They’re running lights, they’re not paying attention to the crossing guards, a lot also needs to be said for the way people drive, not just the way the intersection is,” Phoenix says.
Before the quadrant intersection design is finished, another major road project will be starting in Clay County in two years.
County Road 220 will be widening from two lanes to four from Knight Boxx Road to Baxley. That project is expected to start in 2021.