JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Some drivers leave home early or stay at work late to dodge traffic, but Brittany Baker prefers a playlist.
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“I mean, of course Beyonce, maybe some relaxing jazz so you’re not screaming at the car in front of you,” said Baker, who lives in Mandarin.
Driving along San Jose Boulevard to and from work, a road the Florida Department of Transportation says sees 55,000+ cars every day, Baker says she sometimes needs the Queen Bey to get from A to B.
“If you look on Apple Maps between 4:00 to 6:00 PM every day, it’s all yellow or red,” Baker said, “we want to get home and be relaxed, so it can be irritating.”
But now that she’s seeing concrete barriers and slower speed limit signs pop up on the road, Baker is more worried about the sights of longer drive times rather than the sounds coming from her speakers.
“It seems challenging, bringing another detail into it, it’s a big concern,” said Baker.
JEA says, for the next three months, crews will be replacing a 20-year-old water main along San Jose Boulevard between Claire Lane and Old River Road, which broke last July. The utility says another break could not only cause more traffic troubles for drivers, but issues with water services.
“It could cause disruptions in the road, cause the road to sink and cause disruptions to all the neighborhoods and businesses in this area,” said Myers Vasquez, a public information officer with JEA.
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Right now, JEA says the water main is around 24 feet below the ground. The utility is bringing it up so that it’s only three feet underground, in hopes of making it easier for crews to maintain it over time. Vasquez says the water main is one of the main lines feeding water to homes and businesses in Mandarin.
“We understand there might be traffic, but this is a pretty vital project,” Vasquez said.
While the project is underway, JEA says lanes going north and south along San Jose Boulevard will close between I-295 and Ricky Drive, affecting about a mile of the road. One lane going north will close every night between 8:30 PM - 6:30 AM, while a lane going south will close from around 9:00 PM - 8:00 AM.
JEA says the times could change, but the work will continue 24/7 until crews are done. Turn lanes in the median along this stretch of road are expected to stay closed for the entire project.
Baker doesn’t love the sound of it, but is trying to prepare herself.
“We’re going to have to start getting up early to get to work and traffic is already rough enough over here,” said Baker.
JEA says the project is expected to be finished sometime in May.
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