JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It's your chance to make an impact on one of Jacksonville's biggest road project. The intersection of Kernan and Atlantic Boulevards is one of the city's busiest.
Now the plan to widen and improve Kernan has changed to include a bike path and landscaped medians.
Recommended Videos
Monday night, the public will have an opportunity to tell the project's planners what they think about the proposed changes.
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority wants to turn the four-lane highway of Kernan Boulevard, from Atlantic Boulevard to Monument Road, into six lanes, from Atlantic Boulevard to McCormick Road, and add a 12-foot multi-use path, bike lane and other new features.
"It's been a tremendous amount of growth in this area and Kernan is a very busy road. So it's really capacity... it's safety and quality of life in that area and this is a really important project for that area," said Brad Thoburn with JTA.
JTA developed the plan as part of a better Jacksonville around 2008, but it was stalled due to lack of funding.
JTA saID the design is about 90% done, but it has to be updated.
"Circumstances have changed. And so we have to go back and look at either changes, in terms of the curb cuts that happened and there are there new driveways that we have to deal with," said Thoburn.
Right of way drainage and other issues have to be handled, but JTA said the goal is to start construction at the end of 2015, and finish in two years.
But the organization said community feedback is important before any of that begins, that's why getting feedback at Monday's meeting is so important.
"This is a project that's been sort of long overdue. The community is very anxious to get it going and so they want it to have started yesterday. So what we want to do is say okay, this is what we have to complete, this is a timeline and this is what you can expect so we have realistic expectations," said Thoburn.
The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Monday night with a presentation. Then there will be a question and answer session with JTA representatives. It's going to be held at the Police Athletic League Center at Ed Austin Regional Park, located at 11751 McCormick Road off of Monument Road.