CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – A traffic shift is planned Sept. 26 on Wells Road near Blanding Boulevard as part of an $8 million improvement project, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
Eastbound traffic will move into the final roadway configuration. Westbound drivers will separate based on whether they are turning north or south onto Blanding Boulevard.
The new signalized U-turn on northbound Blanding Boulevard opened Tuesday. Westbound Wells Road drivers who need to continue west or travel south on Blanding Boulevard can use the U-turn after entering the displaced left-turn configuration.
The new configuration is designed to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and make it easier for drivers to access businesses along the corridor. However, some businesses could be harder to reach because westbound traffic on Wells Road will not continue across Blanding Boulevard as it has in the past.
“It’s really, really bad,” Clay County resident Zoriana Laney said of the traffic. “Every day it’s like that. It’s ridiculous.”
The new signalized U-turn on northbound Blanding Boulevard opened Tuesday. Drivers traveling west on Wells Road who need to continue west or head south on Blanding Boulevard can use the U-turn to reach their destinations.
Clay County Chamber of Commerce President Jon Cantrell said businesses and community leaders are hopeful the changes will improve traffic.
“We’re all very hopeful about the traffic because it’s crazy,” Cantrell said. “They’re working right now to free that up and make traffic flow better.”
The project covers Blanding Boulevard, or State Road 21, from south of Wells Road to the Ortega River intersection.
J.B. Coxwell Contracting Inc. is expected to complete the project this fall, weather and unforeseen circumstances permitting.
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