JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A $64 million project in San Marco is expected to solve the headache of the area’s notorious flooding problems. But in the meantime, those who live and work in the area will be dealing with a traffic headache instead.
The project will bring drainage improvements and put in huge drainage pipes connecting the neighborhood to a pump station.
The installation will require building a deep trench across San Marco Boulevard where it intersects with LaSalle Street, making the road impassable during that phase of construction.
Starting next week, part of those streets will be closed as construction on the new drainage system picks back up. And then full road closures are expected in May.
“We’re sort of in the beginning right now. The main closure isn’t going to be until the middle of May, so we have a lot of time to make adjustments and to get feedback and to make it as the least impactful to residents and businesses as possible,” Jacksonville City Councilman Joe Carlucci said.
Carlucci explained that the city is launching Phase 2 of the drainage pump project to prevent flooding.
Carlucci hosted a town hall at the Balis Community Center on LaSalle Street.
He wanted to help residents and businesses prepare for the disruption in the usual way of getting around that part of San Marco.
Many residents voiced concerns about reckless driving coming from the detours, and asked for temporary speed bumps throughout the length of the project.
“It’s a game of Frogger. People just dodging. And in the visibility when you’re dodging cars and you’re not slowing down and you’re looking at your cell phone, it’s a disaster waiting to happen, and I don’t want it to happen. I would rather be preventative,” Crystal Wright said.
Councilman Carlucci’s office is paying for speed bumps to go on streets affected by the detours.
“I have money set aside for that, and I’m committed to making sure that they get those installed,” he explained.
While Wright had her apprehensions about the detour, she said she was excited about the plans and the remedy they would bring to the area.
“We get a lot of flooding, so I’m super excited about the project. I’m happy that the traffic is coming down that way. I’m okay with the traffic. It’s the aggressive driving, it’s the people not paying attention, it’s the impatience,” she said.
About $44 million of funding was set aside by the city of Jacksonville, while the other $20 million for the project was provided by the state of Florida through grants, Carlucci said.
Phase one of the project was building a new pump station between LaSalle and the St. Johns River to push floodwater off the street and into the river.
The second phase includes installing new pipes that connect to the LaSalle station. To do that, the contractor is building a trench for the more than 6,000 feet of plumbing, which means the roads will need to close.
To assist the community, Moses said she will “print out some maps” and inform community members where they can park while construction is underway.
The first part of Phase two is expected to take about 10 weeks. The rest of Phase two is expected to be done by the beginning of 2026.
