Published on July 5, 2023 at 2:02 pm
Continuing development of Downtown Jacksonville’s riverfront will cause a three-day detour next week on a large stretch of East Bay Street.
Traffic will have to detour Monday through Wednesday between North Liberty Street and A. Philip Randolph Boulevard as the city installs a new water and sewer line to service attractions south of Bay Street.
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The work is part of the Catherine Street project, which will extend that road across East Bay Street to offer access and parking to the Fire Museum and the USS Orleck warship museum at 610 E Bay St.
The closure is set to start at 7 a.m. Monday and run through 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Traffic will be detoured onto East Adams between North Liberty Street and A. Philip Randolph Boulevard, according to city officials. Drivers also can take the Hart Expressway ramps between North Liberty Street and A. Philip Randolph Boulevard to get between Downtown and the sports complex.
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The new sewer line will not immediately connect to the Orleck’s visitor center and shop. Its bathroom currently uses holding tanks and “a pump-out service,” museum executive director Jim Webb said.
The Orleck is the first part of a planned riverfront development that will include the Jacksonville Fire Museum. The historic Fire Station 3 was rebuilt after Jacksonville’s 1901 blaze and moved March 26 from Metropolitan Park to its current home at 620 E. Bay St. The Catherine Street extension will be right next to it and include angled parking and a cul-de-sac. Fire officials say they have no word on when the museum will reopen.
Just east of the USS Orleck is what will be called Shipyards West Park, across from the Maxwell House plant. Then the second generation of Jacksonville’s Museum of Science & History is planned for 2.5 acres of the Shipyards along East Bay Street, with a riverwalk and park space.
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