CLAY COUNTY – The First Coast Expressway is currently unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Set to be a 46-mile multi-lane limited-access toll road that stretches through Duval, Clay and St. Johns County, the First Coast Expressway is on track for its 2026 completion date, coronavirus notwithstanding. This is because construction has continued during these times and will continue to unless something like a full state shutdown were ordered.

“Construction on the current segments of the First Coast Expressway...is on track to be completed by or before the projected completion dates,” Florida Department of Transportation community outreach specialist Sara Pleasants said.

The expressway is a giant project that consists of multiple smaller segments that, when all complete, will become the First Coast Expressway. There are five projects in total: I-10 to north of Argyle Forest Boulevard, north of Argyle Forest Boulevard to Blanding Boulevard, State Road 21 to north of State Road 16, north of State Road 16 to east of County Road 209, and finally, a segment from the Shands Bridge to I-95.

The expressway will allow people to travel from Duval to St. Johns, through Clay, in a quick and easy fashion. The first segment, which consists of the Blanding Boulevard, State Road 21 and I-10 segments, began in 2013 and carried a construction cost of $208 million.

The second segment, which doesn’t include the St. Johns connection, began construction last year with a combined cost of $410 million with its two subsegments set for completion in 2025 and 2026.

The third segment which includes a new bridge where the Shands Bridge is currently located that connects to I-95 in St. Johns County, will begin construction in 2022 with a cost of more than $500 million.

More specific information about overpasses and individual facets of a segment are not available because new road construction isn’t done in a linear, point-to-point fashion, Pleasants said.

“For example, on the State Road 21 to north of State Road 16 segment, the contractor [Sacyr Construction] is currently working on pond excavation, cross drains and box culverts and the embankments at multiple locations throughout the area,” Pleasants said.

She said construction on the new bridge over the St. Johns River is scheduled to begin during fiscal year 2022 with a completion goal set for 2030. The estimated cost of the actual bridge is estimated to be $343 million while the connection from the new bridge to I-95 in St. Johns County is estimated to cost $300 million. The section has a 2030 completion goal set as well.

Drivers anxious to take advantage of this extremely streamlined toll road highway will get to do so on the dates originally planned since construction has not been affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the same way that other types of business have been affected. Only time will tell though as the pandemic continues to heighten in Florida and around the country.