Florida State Road 202
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. Turner Butler Boulevard | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by FDOT | ||||
| Length: | 13.042 mi[1] (20.989 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1979 – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: |
 US 1 in Jacksonville | |||
| East end: |
 SR A1A in Jacksonville Beach | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
State Road 202 (SR 202) is a highway that extends from U.S. Highway 1 (Philips Highway), in Jacksonville, Florida to SR A1A (Third Street), in Jacksonville Beach, near the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Ponte Vedra Beach, and includes a bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway. To locals, the road is better known as J. Turner Butler Boulevard, Butler Boulevard, or JTB. Except for a half-mile (0.8 km) section from US 1 to I-95, it is a completely limited-access expressway. It was constructed in sections by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (before 1971, the Jacksonville Expressway Authority). The first section opened in 1979, but was not completed until 1997.[2]
Route description
SR 202 begins at US 1 (Philips Highway) and starts its run east as a divided, four lane surface street, going east towards I-95 and becoming a freeway, passing through mostly marshland as it heads east towards exits including SR 115, I-295, before ending at SR A1A.[3]
History
The expressway is named for J. Turner Butler, a well-known Jacksonville attorney and Florida legislator who was instrumental in advancing various transportation projects in the region and the establishment of the Jacksonville Expressway Authority. J.T.B. was a toll road until 1988, when the JTA removed all the toll-collection facilities in Jacksonville.
When J.T.B. initially opened, it was described by locals as "the road to nowhere". The moniker has diminished over the years as increased growth on Jacksonville's Southside area, as well as at the beaches and in St. Johns County has transformed the road into a major commuter route. Because of the heavy traffic on J.T.B. and projected continued growth in the Jacksonville area, the Florida Department of Transportation, in the early 2000s, conducted a study on making long-term improvements to J.T.B. The study results recommended widening the road and creating "inside" express lanes with limited on and off points along the route, surrounded by additional "outside" local lanes, albeit at a considerable cost. While this was not implemented, most of the highway between the Intracoastal Waterway and I-95 was widened to 3-5 lanes in each direction in the early-to-mid 2000s decade.
The Arthur Sollee bridge spans the Intracoastal Waterway and is known by locals as the "Whubba Whubba" bridge, due to defect in construction that make for an amusing bouncy ride on the eastbound side of the roadway.
Between the summer of 2005 and December 24, 2008, an $80 million freeway-to-freeway "whirlpool" style interchange was constructed at the intersection of J.T.B. and I-295, with the final piece to open being a flyover ramp from J.T.B. east to I-295 north.
Construction
Access to J.T.B eastbound from I-95 southbound is handled through a traffic-signaled intersection located near the highway's western end. This configuration causes significant congestion during rush-hours, causing traffic to back-up onto I-95. To alleviate this situation a flyover is currently being constructed from I-95 southbound to J.T.B eastbound, along with other improvements to the I-95/J.T.B/Belfort Road/Salisbury Road interchanges. Expected completion is in spring 2017.[4]
Exit list
The entire route is in Duval County.
| Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville | 0.000 | 0.000 | US 1 (Philips Highway / SR 5) | At-grade intersection | |
| 0.189 | 0.304 | Bonneval Road | At-grade intersection | ||
| 0.51 | 0.82 |  I-95 (SR 9) – St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Downtown Jacksonville, Savannah | I-95 exit 344 | ||
| 1.11 | 1.79 | Belfort Road / Salisbury Road | No direct entrances from Salisbury Road; westbound exit has right-in/right-out to Southpoint Boulevard | ||
| 3.03 | 4.88 |  SR 115 (Southside Boulevard) | Cloverleaf interchange | ||
| 4.02 | 6.47 | Gate Parkway | |||
| 5.22 | 8.40 |  I-295 (SR 9A) – International Airport, Daytona Beach | I-295 exit 53 | ||
| 6.29 | 10.12 | Kernan Boulevard | |||
| 8.21 | 13.21 | Hodges Boulevard | Southern Terminal of Hodges BLVD | ||
| 10.05 | 16.17 | San Pablo Road | |||
| | 10.358– 11.228 | 16.670– 18.070 | Bridge over Pablo Creek (Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway) | ||
| Jacksonville Beach | 12.65 | 20.36 | South Beach Parkway | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| 13.042 | 20.989 | SR A1A (Ponte Vedra Boulevard) – Jacksonville's Beaches, Ponte Vedra, St. Augustine | Trumpet interchange | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
- 1 2 FDOT straight line diagrams, accessed March 2014
- ↑ Mabry, Donald J: "Chapter 6 - The Sixties" World's Finest Beach, ISBN 1-59629-967-3, May 2010
- ↑ Google (2010-07-20). "overview map of State Road 202" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- ↑ "Interstate 95 at J. Turner Butler Boulevard interchange construction page". North Florida Roads. Florida Department of Transportation. Retrieved 20 June 2015.