The Florida Department of Transportation plans to widen nearly 2 miles of Interstate 95 between Baymeadows Road and J. Turner Butler Boulevard in Jacksonville, with construction tentatively scheduled to begin Dec. 22.

The project, estimated to cost up to $197 million, would add four lanes and redesign the Baymeadows Road interchange, according to an Oct. 14 report by the Jacksonville Business Journal.

The improvements would affect a heavily traveled stretch of I-95 on Jacksonville's Southside, a major route for motorists traveling between Mandarin, the Baymeadows area and downtown Jacksonville.

FDOT's updated Five-Year Work Program, dated Oct. 17, lists Dec. 22, 2026, as the anticipated construction start date for project 446153-1. The schedule remains subject to change.

Construction timeline differs from earlier estimate

The updated schedule differs from information FDOT provided to the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization's Citizens Advisory Committee in August.

At the committee's Aug. 5 meeting, FDOT representative Anna Siju said construction was anticipated to begin in 2030. She was responding to a question from committee member Doug Conkey about when work would start.

The following day, FDOT provided a written response explaining that the project was in the "construction acquisition phase," according to meeting minutes included in the committee's Oct. 7 agenda book.

"It is unknown who the selected contractor will be, which means variations for FDOT's concept are possible," the agency's project manager wrote. "We are adding capacity along I-95."

More recent FDOT records indicate that the project has advanced through procurement.

The agency's updated work program lists Oct. 16 as the date design-build bids opened and Oct. 19 as the scheduled start of construction engineering services.

Although the work program now identifies December 2026 as the anticipated construction start, the timing of major roadway work remains uncertain. The schedule also includes design and utility activities extending into later years, with project completion programmed for fiscal year 2031.

Project advances through transportation planning

The I-95 widening project covers approximately 1.99 miles between Baymeadows Road and State Road 202, also known as J. Turner Butler Boulevard.

FDOT had previously programmed the project to begin before July 1, 2026, but it had not started by that date. As a result, the project was carried forward into the fiscal year 2026-27 through 2030-31 Transportation Improvement Program.

The process, known as a roll-forward amendment, allows previously programmed projects or phases that were not authorized or started before the new fiscal year to remain in the transportation improvement plan.

During the Aug. 5 meeting, a TPO official identified in the minutes as Mr. Letter explained that the amendments involved existing projects rather than newly proposed work.

The Citizens Advisory Committee unanimously approved both amendments involving the I-95 project. Committee member Barney Roberts moved to approve each amendment, and Bernie O'Connor seconded both motions.

The committee's approval addressed transportation programming and did not establish a final construction start date.

The North Florida TPO's Citizens Advisory Committee meets monthly to review regional transportation plans and provide public input. Residents can find meeting agendas, project documents and contact information at northfloridatpo.com.