It’s been an eventful decade for Jacksonville.
The city experienced growth both in its population and in the form of dozens of major development projects. It moved closer to achieving the long-awaited revitalization of downtown and toward forming a city-wide identity.
The Coastal began publishing in December 2015, so we were around for just under half of the decade. But to honor the 2010s in Jax, we put together our collection of what we believe to be the biggest stories in Jacksonville from the past decade.
Check out our list below and be sure to let us know your thoughts on the decade’s most important events.
A few major city infrastructure projects were completed this decade, helping to ease traffic congestion in key areas.
The I-95 Overland Bridge project, which involved replacing the series of overpasses at I-95 and US-1 where it turns from Kings Avenue to Philips Highway, began in 2013 and took over five years and well over $200 million to complete. It created separate pathways for traffic heading northbound on 95 and traffic heading downtown to cut down on rush-hour jams, added several southbound merge lanes, and reconfigured Atlantic Boulevard’s on-ramp and off-ramp.
The I-95/Butler Boulevard interchange project added a flyover ramp to carry traffic from I-95 southbound to Butler Boulevard eastbound, as well as another one to separate traffic heading westbound on Butler to Philips Highway from traffic heading westbound toward I-95 northbound. It took around three years to complete.
And on I-295, the land of perpetual construction, the first in a series of express lanes opened earlier this year.
All three projects put the city in a better position to handle its ongoing population growth.