CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Clay County drivers may notice some roads need to be repaired and widened. Leaders are now choosing which roads need the most work, and are trying to get federal funding.
There are eight road projects for which the Clay County Board of Commissioners is considering asking the federal government for help with.
With such a growing area, county commissioners will meet at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Green Cove Springs to determine which roads need funding. They'll then submit those roads to the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization.
Four of the eight proposals -- County Road 220 at State Road 21, County Road 209 at U.S. 17 in Green Cove Springs, two sections of County Road 218 -- request widening the roads to four lanes.
And drivers want it.
"(When it's bad), excuse my French, it's hell. Because you got to wait to get through here. It takes 45 minutes to an hour," DeeDee Montague said.
But it's not a quick process. The Transportation Planning Organization already has a long-term request list, which includes another major problem in Clay County -- the section of State Road 16 that passes Clay High School and the Clay County Fairgrounds. The Transportation Planning Organization is considering whether to expand it to four lanes.
The last few weeks have illustrated how bad traffic can be as the fair turned the formerly rural two-lane road into gridlock.
Clay County drivers told News4Jax on Monday that they think widening the road would help.
"Around the fair, this road backs up to (U.S.) 17," Phil Craven said.
Other counties, such as Duval and St. Johns, submit these proposals each year. It's not guaranteed which roads will get the money. Submitting a proposal just starts the process.