JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Work has begun on a project that will bring major changes to how people get around in one of the city’s busiest areas.
The Florida Department of Transportation said a diverging diamond interchange (DDI) at State Road 202 (J. Turner Butler Boulevard) and San Pablo Road will help with safety and traffic flow.
The unique, new traffic pattern could start as early as spring of next year.
FDOT said that would be the partial implementation with the full, $12 million project expected to be done in spring 2022.
With a DDI, traffic keeps moving on the left side of the road. FDOT said it has fewer light cycles and 50% fewer conflict points, areas like left turns through busy intersections that commonly cause crashes.
“We were concerned about how we’re going to get out of our development, because it’s already pretty crazy,” said neighbor Brian Shore.
Shore was one of the people who came out to a FDOT open house Monday at Mayo Clinic.
“They’re really just exploding all over the country because they do work so much more efficiently, and they are safer, and so they can reduce collisions by up to 50%,” said Sara Pleasant with FDOT.
Action News Jax obtained crash data for the area for the last two years, finding a slight increase.
The Florida Highway Patrol said it saw 36 crashes in the area in 2018 and 42 in 2019.
Troopers said people were hurt in 20 of those 78 wrecks.
“I think it’s going to reduce the accidents,” Shore said. “It’s going to be a good thing.”
Shore just thinks the completion date may be a bit ambitious.
“I don’t think their time schedule is realistic, because it always takes longer, but I think it’s going to be great,” Shore said.
VIDEO: Learn more about diverging diamond interchanges