Community members can share their thoughts on a proposal to help improve a busy intersection near the St. Johns-Duval county line.
The Florida Department of Transportation is in the design phase for a project aimed at relieving congestion and improving safety at Race Track Road and U.S. 1.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
The intersection gets backed up quite a bit, and one of the main reasons why is trains crossing the intersection.
“Currently there is about 24 trains per day that use and block Race Track Road,” said Hampton Ray, FDOT Public Information Officer.
FDOT said the design proposal they are working on would clear the intersection faster after a train blocks Race Track Road.
READ: Sources: Top Deegan official wrote ‘derogatory’ memo aimed at Jacksonville City Council President
But the railroad crossings aren’t the only challenge at the intersection.
“We are really trying to look at how the growth in the area is happening and how more cars are on the road in that particular area,” Ray said.
In September 2020, Action News Jax reported that a local company wanted to tear down the Best Bet located at Race Track Road and replace it with a $250-million mixed-use development.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
Now four years later, there are restaurants, shopping, and apartments at the intersection.
“I’ve noticed a lot of development happening, a lot of apartments getting built,” Miranda Batz said.
Batz said she’s lived in St. Johns County for about a year and she used to drive through the intersection every day to get to work.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
“I think that if they were to do something about that and there’s more people piling in, more cars piling in, that would be really helpful if they were able to help with that,” Batz said.
There is another public meeting for the project proposal.
It will be at the Bartram Springs Social Hall, starting at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
