The A1A Plan on FDOT's Website Is Not the One Being Drawn Now

"The new plan removes U-turns and minimizes tree impact while still providing the same traffic relief." St. Johns County Public Works Director Greg Caldwell said that to the Ponte Vedra Beach Municipal Service District at its September 14 meeting at Christ Church, as reported in the Ponte Vedra Recorder.

That plan has not been posted publicly. As of mid-October, FDOT's project page for State Road A1A from Gnarled Oaks Drive to the Duval County line still shows the June 2026 hearing materials. It still describes rerouted turns at Solana Road and lists the project's start and completion as TBD. If you open that page to see what will happen at your usual intersection, you'll find the version the community pushed back on, not the version the county and state are now refining.

What the June drawings would have changed on a daily drive

FDOT's proposal covers six locations along this stretch of A1A, at an estimated cost of $7.1 million: Fairfield Boulevard/Sawgrass Drive West, TPC Boulevard/Country Club Boulevard, Sawgrass Village Drive/L'Atrium Drive, Solana Road, Merchants Plaza to Professional Drive, and Ponte Vedra Lakes Boulevard. Two of those items are simple. One extends the southbound auxiliary lane so drivers coming off J. Turner Butler Boulevard have more room to merge. The other lengthens the eastbound right-turn lane at Ponte Vedra Lakes Boulevard.

The other four sites are where the changes would be felt. FDOT's traffic operational analysis report uses the term "thru-cut" for a median that blocks a cross movement, and "median U-turn" for the place where drivers turn around instead. At Solana Road, the June concept restricted the northbound left turn and the westbound through movement. Those drivers would have used a new signalized U-turn about 325 feet north of the intersection. At Sawgrass Village Drive/L'Atrium Drive, through movements in both directions were restricted, with a U-turn about 400 feet to the south.

WOKV explained the Solana change in practical terms. A driver heading west across A1A on Solana would turn right onto A1A, make a U-turn, and then turn right onto Solana on the far side. That's one crossing replaced by three maneuvers, at an intersection that connects neighborhoods on both sides of the highway.

The case FDOT made

The agency's reasons are in its own study. From January 2020 through December 2024, the corridor recorded 1,061 crashes. Of those, 560 happened at intersections, and rear-end collisions were the largest category at 525. The report says every intersection studied had a crash rate above the statewide average for that type of intersection.

FDOT projected the payoff out to 2050. Compared with doing nothing, the build alternative cut average network delay by about 52% in the morning peak and 54% in the evening peak. Movements that would otherwise fail outright improved from a grade of F to E. FDOT Public Information Officer Meg Ross told News4JAX that the goal was "to decrease congestion while also increasing safety," naming Solana Road, TPC Boulevard, and Sawgrass Village Drive as specific intersections.

What the June 23 room objected to

The in-person hearing at THE PLAYERS Community Senior Center on Landrum Lane drew so many people that, according to News4JAX, the crowd spilled into the hallway and some people left without finding a seat. Few speakers disputed that the corridor needed work. The station reported that many thought the redesign was more complicated than necessary. Several asked for conventional traffic signals instead. One speaker argued that the plan favored through traffic over the people who live along A1A.

The Ponte Vedra Recorder's hearing coverage added concerns about palm trees, wildlife, neighborhood character, and the U-turns themselves. MSD chair Kitty Switkes asked how school buses and trucks would manage the turns.

Taken together, the objections came down to two things: the U-turns and the landscaping. Those are exactly the two items the revisions have since addressed.

Two MSD meetings, two rounds of change

The first sign came at the August 10 MSD meeting. Trustee Mickey White, who sits on the Community Traffic Task Force, said residents had been confused after the June hearing and that the task force had put out an educational summary. He then described a notice from County Commissioner Krista Joseph listing steps the state and county had agreed on. According to the Recorder's August 13 report, these were:

• A roundabout to handle the J. Turner Butler Boulevard exit on Marsh Landing Parkway
• Offset left turns
• An upgrade to the TPC intersection
• Protection for palm trees
• Keeping the blinking light at Fairfield as it is, and not putting in U-turns
• An FDOT review of alternatives to the U-turn at Solana Road

The September 14 meeting followed through on the last item. Caldwell said Public Works had been working closely with FDOT on an alternate plan. He described the two main takeaways from June as reducing U-turns and limiting the impact on palms and other plants. The new plan removes all U-turns at A1A and Solana Road and may affect only one tree. Caldwell said there would be no change to movement from the east side of A1A to the west side, or the other way.

Here is how each location compares, using the June hearing documents and the two Recorder reports:

Neither public update since June has said what happens at Sawgrass Village Drive, even though FDOT named that intersection as a safety priority and its June concept relied on a U-turn there.

What is still unsettled

Caldwell was clear that the September plan is not final. Public Works is still checking that the changes are doable. He said the community will be informed once there is a set plan, and that "there will be some type of interaction with the public." The county commission's October 6 agenda had no item on the A1A project. FDOT's A1A project page gives no separate schedule for the Marsh Landing Parkway roundabout, which so far appears only in the list of agreed steps.

The construction timeline is still a long way off. FDOT's design consultant scope, dated July 21, 2025, sets a production date of July 27, 2027. FDOT's own page still lists the start and completion dates as TBD. Any change at Solana, TPC, or Fairfield is a design question for at least the next several months, not a lane closure.

Three things will show when the redrawn version becomes official:

1. A revised concept posted to the FDOT project page, replacing the June Solana Road drawing that is there now.
2. The public session Caldwell described, which will be the first time the alternate plan is shown in detail.
3. Updates at the MSD's monthly meetings at Christ Church, where both the August and September changes were first reported.

Until one of those happens, the June drawings remain the only plan in the public record, and they no longer match what Caldwell has described.

A1A access is part of everyday life in Ponte Vedra Beach. Changes at Solana Road, TPC Boulevard, or the JTB exit affect how a home's location works day to day, and over time, how it is valued. Julie Little Brewer has followed this corridor for more than 35 years and is watching this project as it moves toward a final design. If you'd like to understand where your home stands in today's market, Request Your Complimentary Home Valuation.