The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is building the First Coast Expressway (FCE), a limited-access toll road connecting I-10 to I-95 to reduce congestion on nearby roadways and provide a storm-related evacuation route. FDOT hired Superior Construction to build a segment of the FCE encompassing nearly 10 miles of roadway with automated toll gantries, 15 bridges, and a stormwater management system. The project includes the construction of a progressive and unique diverging diamond interchange (DDI), which reduces crashes and improves safety on the roadway by eliminating common accident-producing conflict points while reducing queuing time and length.
Project Fast Facts
Client: Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)
Location: Clay County, FL
Work Performed: Design and construction of a 9.7-mile, multi-lane, divided expressway with two tolling facilities, 15 new bridges, and a stormwater drainage system.
Project Schedule: Four years and six months (currently 14 months ahead of schedule)
Completion Date: Anticipated completion September 2023
The Work
Superior implemented a strong logistical schedule and plan to clear the land, build bridges, and install stormwater drainage, all while steadily moving 6.6 million yards of earth. Construction equipment travel was limited by two obstacles — US 17 and the CSX railroad — so Superior developed a plan to haul fill material around and eventually over these impediments. In the beginning, the Project Team worked ahead to build the necessary bridges to offer a pathway for construction equipment and speed up operations. In order to minimize impact on the surrounding communities and environmentally sensitive areas, Superior constructed mechanically stabilized earthen (MSE) retaining walls to contain embankment slopes and limit the footprint of the new expressway.
Our team also converted a well-traveled two-lane rural country road with a speed limit of 55 into a DDI for entering and leaving the new expressway. The unique design — one of the few DDIs in Florida — is extremely beneficial for safe traffic flow but also challenging to construct and pave. Superior built the DDI around live traffic, which required detailed traffic control plans with multiple incremental phases depending on the section of road under construction.
The Result
As a local company with relationships within the community and crews from the area, Superior was able to aggressively shrink the timeline. Operations are currently running more than 14 months ahead of schedule. Superior is working with FDOT to open our portion of the expressway, which will benefit both residents who can take advantage of the faster commute and FDOT, which can begin earning revenue earlier than expected. Throughout the project, Superior has employed several hundred local employees — all during the employment downturn of the pandemic. Ultimately, the roadway will offer safe and efficient travel to Florida residents, and because of the experience and hard work of the Superior team, the project will be completed ahead of schedule.