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Big changes coming Thursday with Beach Boulevard construction

Published on May 24, 2023 at 10:06 am
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MUTs are coming to Beach Boulevard at Southside Boulevard.

That’s MUTs as in median U-turns.

Drivers turning left from Beach Boulevard onto Southside Boulevard will encounter a new traffic pattern Thursday night as the Florida Department of Transportation implements the MUT concept.

Median U-turns are part of a $7.4 million project adding S-shaped U-turn lanes within the east/west medians on Beach Boulevard. The configuration allows drivers to get on north- or southbound Southside Boulevard without having to pass oncoming traffic turning the other way across Beach Boulevard, as it has been.

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 The planned signal-controlled median directional crossover on Beach Boulevard to Eve Drive West.

Expect MUTs on both eastbound Beach to northbound Southside, and westbound Beach to southbound Southside. The FDOT also will add a stop-controlled median directional crossover on Beach to Newell Boulevard and a signal-controlled median directional crossover on Beach to West Eve Drive, all designed to reduce congestion and improve safety, the FDOT said.

“MUTs are innovative intersection designs that reroute left-turning vehicles away from the main intersection and direct them to a separate intersection, allowing more green-light time for major traffic movements,” the FDOT said. “MUTs also increase the safety factor of the intersection through a reduction in vehicular conflict points.”

The full project is expected to be done this summer, the FDOT said.

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author image Reporter email Dan Scanlan is a veteran journalist with 40 years as a radio, television and print reporter in the Jacksonville area, as well as years of broadcast work in the Northeast. After a stint managing a hotel comedy club, Dan began a 34-year career as police and current events reporter at The Florida Times-Union before joining the staff of WJCT News 89.9.

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