The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) started construction on the first phase of the First Coast Expressway, formerly the Outer Beltway, reports Jacksonville Business Journal.
The first phase, from Interstate 10 to Argyle Forest Boulevard, will cost about $77 million and should be completed in early 2016.
The work includes adding two lanes between New World Avenue and 103rd Street, resurfacing the pavement within the project limits and constructing interchanges at New World Avenue, Normandy Boulevard and 103rd Street. The side roads will cross over the First Coast Expressway.
The first construction activities on the First Coast Expressway project will be building noise walls and starting work on the drainage systems.
The second phase, from Argyle Forest to Blanding boulevards, will cost about $90 million and should take about two-and-a-half years to complete.
Between both phases, more than 4,600 temporary road construction jobs will be supported.Tolls will not be collected until both segments are finished.