State Road 23 (SR 23), also known as the First Coast Expressway, is a controlled-access

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

serving as an outer bypass around the southwest quadrant of

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. , the first phase has been built, linking Interstate 10 (I-10) near

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with SR 21 (Blanding Boulevard) in the Middleburg area. The second phase to Green Cove Springs is currently under construction, and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025. The ultimate plan is for a four-lane controlled-access, electronically-tolled highway between I-10 and

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

. The total investment for the entire highway is estimated at $2 billion. Construction of the final section began in 2024 and is expected to be completed by 2032. It extends from near Green Cove Springs, crosses the St. Johns River, then continues east through fast-growing northern St. Johns County to a point approximately north of the

World Golf Village The World Golf Village (WGV) is a golf resort in St. Johns County, Florida, United States, located between Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Florida, St. Augustine. It was created by the PGA Tour and showcases the World Golf ...

interchange along I-95.

Route description

The First Coast Expressway begins at an interchange with US Highway 90 (US 90, Beaver Street). Shortly after, the expressway heads southbound towards a cloverstack interchange with

I-10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the originall ...

. Following the major interchange, the freeway widens to four lanes and continues south towards interchanges with POW-MIA Memorial Highway and SR 134 (103rd Street), providing access to the nearby Cecil Field. The highway continues through the suburban outskirts of Jacksonville before crossing into Clay County following the interchange with Argyle Forest Boulevard/Oakleaf Plantation Parkway. The expressway follows a pair of frontage roads from the second interchange with Oakleaf Plantation until the half-diamond interchange with Old Jennings Road. The highway continues for roughly , passing by St. Vincent's Hospital, until it reaches its current southern terminus at SR 21 (Blanding Boulevard) near Middleburg.

History

The plans for connecting I-10 to SR 21 (Blanding Blvd) date back to 1979. SR 23 was originally planned as a toll road by

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) is a unit of the Florida Department of Transportation that operates toll roads in Florida. The current executive director is Nicola Liquori. History The Florida State Turnpike Authority was authorized by t ...

to meet those plans, but those plans fell through in 1997. The Jacksonville Transportation Authority and

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worked together to connect Branan Field Road in Clay County and Chaffee Road in Duval County. By 2003, the Duval County section was open, and connected south to Branan Field Road in Clay County. By late 2004, the Clay County section was added. Currently the entire route stretches from I-10 in Jacksonville to SR 21 (Blanding Blvd) in Middleburg. The project was formerly known as the First Coast Outer Beltway and the Branan Field-Chaffee Expressway, but its current name is the First Coast Expressway.

Future

The partial outer beltway when finished will contain 17 interchanges and a new bridge across the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River () is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and is the most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders 12 counties. The drop in elevation from River s ...

in place of the current two-lane Shands Bridge.

Funding

Funding for the $1.8 billion project will be competitively bid as a public-private partnership (PPP) opportunity for private sector businesses. By using a PPP and innovative contracting solutions, the project will be built years earlier than with traditional contracting methods. The awarded contractor(s) will serve as the concessionaire to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the beltway. The

Florida Department of Transportation The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the U.S. state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the power ...

(FDOT) is currently engaging private contractors in a competitive bidding process. The I-595 Corridor Express PPP with I-595 Express LLC was the first of its kind in Florida, opening years ahead of schedule. The beltway is the one of largest public infrastructure projects to be undertaken in Northeast Florida. In early 2011, FDOT abandoned the plan to find a private company to build the entire beltway and just focus on building the 15 mile section between I-10 and SR 21 (Blanding Boulevard). This section is partly built and would need flyovers built and widening done for the expressway to be complete. It is expected to cost around $291 million and would be a tollway. In August 2011, FDOT announced that the

will be taking on the $291 million project of turning the stretch into a tollway. Construction started on September 10, 2012, and was completed in 2017. Construction on the second phase of the expressway, from SR 21 (Blanding Boulevard) to Green Cove Springs started in October 2019 and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025. The third and final phase of the project, which includes replacement of the Shands Bridge, started in May 2023 and will be completed in 2031. Bridge construction will begin in 2024. Construction on the segment between County Road 16A (CR 16A) to St. Johns Parkway (CR 2209) is expected to start in early 2025, and from St. Johns Parkway to I-95 in late 2025.

Tolling

All tolls are electronic and compatible with SunPass used in other parts of the state with no toll booths. There is a free section between US 90 and POW-MIA Memorial Parkway which helps promote growth in the Cecil Commerce Center, and the future Shands Bridge crossing the

will be free as well.

Exit list

Tolls are collected between each exit south of exit 42.

References

External links

* {{Florida's Turnpike 023 023 023 023 Toll roads in Florida Westside, Jacksonville Expressways in Duval County, Florida