Interstate 295 (Florida)

For the unsigned State Road 9A in Miami-Dade County, see Interstate 95 in Florida.

Interstate 295
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-95
Maintained by FDOT
Length	60.864 mi (97.951 km)
Existed	1970–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
Beltway around Jacksonville, Florida
Major intersections	US 17 in Southwest Jacksonville I-10 Northwest Jacksonville US 1 / US 23 in Northwest Jacksonville I-95 in North Jacksonville US 17 in North Jacksonville US 90 in Greater Arlington / Southeast Jacksonville US 1 in Southeast Jacksonvile I-95 in Southeast Jacksonvile
Location
Country	United States
State	Florida
Counties	Duval
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Florida State Highway System Interstate US State Former Pre‑1945 Toll Scenic
← SR 294 → SR 295
← SR 9 → SR 9B

Interstate 295 (abbreviated as I-295), an auxiliary route of Interstate 95, is a beltway around central Jacksonville, Florida. The 60.864 miles (97.951 km)-long beltway consists of two segments, the West Beltway (formerly signed as simply I-295), and the East Beltway (formerly signed as State Road 9A), with I-95 serving as the dividing line between the two. The entire highway carries a hidden designation as State Road 9A by the Florida Department of Transportation. The West Beltway was constructed in the 1970s, with the East Beltway being built from the 1980s-2000s.

Route description

Exit signs at the interchange with Interstate 95, on south I-295

Beginning at the I-95 interchange in southeastern Duval as the West Beltway, the beltway travels west, passes through the Mandarin area with interchanges at Old St. Augustine Road, and SR 13 (San Jose Boulevard). It then travels along the three mile Buckman Bridge crossing the St. Johns River immediately south of Naval Air Station Jacksonville, and serves as a major connection in the southern part of Jacksonville. At the western end of the river, I-295 continues west, serving as the border between Clay County and Duval County running just north of the town of Orange Park with interchanges at US 17/SR 15 (Roosevelt Boulevard) and SR 21 (Blanding Boulevard) serving NAS Jacksonville. The freeway then turns north with full interchanges at SR 134 (103rd Street), SR 208 (Wilson Boulevard), and SR 228 (Normandy Boulevard) before reaching the interchange at Interstate 10.

North of the I-10 interchange, the western beltway loops around the northwest side of Jacksonville with full interchanges located at both Commonwealth Avenue and Pritchard Road, before curving northwest to an interchange at US 1/US 23. The road then crosses the Trout River before crossing SR 104 (Dunn Avenue), where the freeway then turns east, with interchanges at SR 115, International Airport Boulevard/Duval Road, and I-95 just south of the Jacksonville International Airport, where the West Beltway ends and the East Beltway begins.

I-295 at the Buckman Bridge

East of the I-95 interchange near the airport, I-295 continues east as the East Beltway, with the next interchange being US 17. I-295 starts to curve to the southeast, with interchanges at Pulaski Road, Alta Drive/Yellowbluff Road, before orienting itself southward at the SR 105 (Zoo Parkway/Heckscher Drive) in the Fort Caroline area. The freeway then crosses the Dames Point Bridge over the St. Johns River, before continuing south towards more remote areas of the highway. Just south of the bridge, it has a partial interchange with SR 113 (Southside Connector), followed by full interchanges with Merrill Road and Monument Road, providing access to NS Mayport. Continuing south, it has full interchanges with SR 10 (Atlantic Boulevard), St. Johns Bluff Road, US 90/SR 212 (Beach Boulevard) and Town Center Parkway/University of North Florida Drive. The next interchange, J. Turner Butler Boulevard is a freeway to freeway interchange and the last completed interchange on I-295 to date, finished in 2008. After interchanges with Gate Parkway and SR 152 (Baymeadows Road) and a planned interchange with the future SR 9B, I-295 curves to the west, it crosses US 1 before completing the loop at I-95 in south Jacksonville.

History

The current version of I-295 appeared on maps in 1967, as a loop around central Jacksonville, with the first section between I-95 in south Duval County to SR 134 (exit 16) in 1970, and the section from SR 134 to I-10 opened in 1973. The section from I-10 to Commonwealth Ave. (exit 22) opened in 1975, followed by the extension to I-95 in north Jacksonville in 1977, completing the western section of the loop.

I-295 northbound at the Dames Point Bridge

The eastern section, formerly signed as SR 9A, had its first section open from I-95 in north Jacksonville to US 17 (exit 36) in 1983. The eastern half of the loop was constructed initially as a Super 2 highway with traffic lights in the late 1980s, and was not up to interstate standards. The Dames Point Bridge was signed as I-295 in 1990, but this designation was removed in 1993 and replaced by SR 9A. The final sections of SR 9A were completed in 2006, creating a complete loop around central Jacksonville. Several sections not under interstate compliance were upgraded, and the route was considered interstate ready in 2009.

The I-295 East Beltway (formerly signed as SR 9A) was designated the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway in a Florida Department of Transportation ceremony on August 27, 2009. After the Federal Highway Administration accepted the road as the eastern loop of Interstate 295 in 2010, the state was no longer able to name the highway.

Improvements to the I-95 interchange north close by the airport were under construction, new lanes and a flyover ramp were constructed to help improve the interchange. This was completed in late September 2010.

On December 4, 2011, the two halves of the Jacksonville beltway changed over to their current designations, the West Beltway (formerly the whole of I-295), and the East Beltway (formerly State Road 9A). The East Beltway was officially given the I-295 designation, making the entire beltway I-295, with State Road 9A remaining the hidden designation for the entire beltway for FDOT purposes.

Sniper incident

In 1992, a series of sniper shootings and concrete block and brick throwing attacks occurred on Interstate 295 (currently the West Beltway), resulting in the death of one motorist, William Klinedinst, after a concrete block landed on the hood of his moving car, causing it to crash. Another motorist, Debra Lewis, received a bullet wound to the face, and several other injuries occurred. The incidents spurred then-governor Lawton Chiles to dispatch the Florida National Guard to patrol the roadway and the American Automobile Association (AAA) to issue a rare travel warning for the interstate and direct its customers to avoid its use. A task force was set up by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) to investigate the incidents and, though charges were filed, they were eventually dropped. The task force was disbanded at the end of 1992 and the incidents remained unsolved to this day.

Future

See also: Florida State Road 9B

Southbound on I-295 East Beltway at the future interchange with SR 9B in southeastern Jacksonville

Extending from the southeast corner of the loop is planned to be Interstate 795 (SR 9B), an approximately 11-mile (18 km) expressway. In May 2008, the SR 9B project was suspended by the Florida Department of Transportation. The project was reinstated in 2009, and construction of phase one began in June 2010 with completion set for Spring 2013. Construction of phase two, which will extend SR 9B to I-95, started in May 2013 and will finish in Summer 2016. After phase two is completed, SR 9B will be renamed Interstate 795.

In February 2011, construction began for a new interchange at Collins Road, just west of the congested Blanding Boulevard exit. The $63.4 million project is expected to be complete in 2014.

Exit list

The entire route is in Jacksonville, Duval County.

mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
0.000	0.000	61	I-95 – Daytona Beach, Jacksonville	Signed as exits 61A (south) and 61B (north)
2.888	4.648	3	Old St. Augustine Road
4.689	7.546	5	SR 13 (San Jose Boulevard)	Signed as exits 5A (north) and 5B (south)
5.109– 9.000	8.222– 14.484	Buckman Bridge over the St. Johns River
9.416	15.154	10	US 17 / SR 15 (Roosevelt Boulevard / Park Avenue)	Naval Air Station Jacksonville
11.522	18.543	12	SR 21 (Blanding Boulevard)	Orange Park Mall
12.612	20.297	13	Collins Road	Future interchange
15.738	25.328	16	SR 134 (103rd Street)
17.260	27.777	17	SR 208 (Wilson Boulevard)
19.224	30.938	19	SR 228 (Normandy Boulevard)
20.434	32.885	21	I-10 – Jacksonville, Lake City	Signed as exits 21A (east) and 21B (west)
22.018	35.435	22	Commonwealth Avenue
24.524	39.468	25	Pritchard Road
27.481	44.226	28	US 1 / US 23 (New Kings Road) – Callahan	Signed as exit 28A (south) and 28B (north)
29.816	47.984	30	SR 104 (Dunn Avenue)
31.466	50.640	32	SR 115 (Lem Turner Road)
33.127	53.313	33	International Airport Boulevard / Duval Road
34.884	56.140	35	I-95 – Jacksonville, Jacksonville International Airport, Savannah	Signed as exits 35A (south) and 35B (north); River City Marketplace
35.705	57.462	36	US 17 (North Main Street)
37.252	59.951	37	Pulaski Road
39.531	63.619	40	Alta Drive
41.302	66.469	41	SR 105 (Heckscher Drive / Zoo Parkway)
42.602– 44.708	68.561– 71.951	Dames Point Bridge over the St. Johns River
45.170	72.694	45	SR 113 (Southside Connector) / SR 116 (Merrill Road east)	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
45.588	73.367	46	SR 116 (Merrill Road) – Jacksonville University	SR 116 via Merrill Road east only; signed southbound as Merrill Road west
46.727	75.200	47	Monument Road – Naval Station Mayport
48.183	77.543	48	SR 10 (Atlantic Boulevard) – Florida State College at Jacksonville South Campus
48.749	78.454	49	St. Johns Bluff Road	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
50.777	81.718	51	US 90 (Beach Boulevard)
52.053	83.771	52	Town Center Parkway / University of North Florida Drive
53.157	85.548	53	SR 202 (J. Turner Butler Boulevard) – Jacksonville Beaches
54.336	87.445	55	Gate Parkway
55.719	89.671	56	SR 152 (Baymeadows Road)
57.653	92.784	58	SR 9B / Future I-795	Future interchange; southbound exit, northbound entrance
60.038	96.622	60	US 1 (Philips Highway)Module:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated	Avenues Mall
60.864	97.951	61	I-95 – Daytona Beach, Jacksonville	Signed as exits 61A (south) and 61B (north)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

External links

Template:Attached KML/Interstate 295 (Florida)

KML is from Wikidata

• I-295 on Kurumi.com
• I-295 Beltway Map