Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
February 17, 2021
According to Hampton Ray (FDOT) Nassau County residents will just have a few more weeks for the completion of road work onn A1A/SR200 between I-95 and the Shave Bridge. Here’s what he wrote in an email this afternoon:
“We know residents and drivers along the SR 200/A1A corridor are ready for the completion of the improvement projects taking place from I-95 to near the Shave Bridge. Construction activities are expected to be completed over the next several weeks, weather and unforeseen circumstances permitting. Crews are currently working on laying a final layer of asphalt called a friction course. In order to install the asphalt correctly, temperatures must be higher than 50 degrees Fahrenheit and dry. The last several weeks have presented challenges with regard to the weather.
“Once the asphalt is completed, permanent striping activities will take place and there will be fewer orange barrels on the roadway. Peripheral work will likely still take place along the corridor that drivers may not see. Finally, you may be interested to know there is a two-year warranty period, beginning once the contractor completes work, that any defects or other deficiencies must be corrected. This gives a level of protection to taxpayer dollars.
“FDOT is grateful to the residents and motorists of Nassau County for their patience during construction. These infrastructure improvements serve as a short term inconvenience toward a long-term, more permanent transportation solution.”
Good things come to those who wait, they say. And goodness knows, Nassau County residents are ready for it!
Unfortunately the renovated Route 200 will soon be grossly inadequate as Nassau County population rises 70% within the next decade and we are overrun by tourists as the Tourist Development Council (TDC) meets its goal of making Amelia Island “the” next big vacation destination. Just wondering how soon before Route 200 is going to be made into a limited access tollway? And the beaches are accessible only on a “reservation needed” for parking?
Can’t wait for the traffic jams due to three lanes becoming two. Start planning for an expansion of the Shave Bridge to three lanes. Finish 200 with three lanes into the island. Traffic Engineering, REALLY!!!
and how many times have these announcements of the near completion been posted on A1A?
I wish that I had stolen some of these signs stating that the project would be created in 2018, 2019.
Maybe even earlier; I’m not sure.
And for sure there will be numerous repairs to the asphalt. The privately owned roadways in my neighborhood were recently repaved. What a poor job they did!
I can’t wait to see the disaster that the interchange at I95 will be.