State Road 23 (SR 23), also known as the First Coast Expressway, is a controlled-access toll road serving as an outer bypass around the southwest quadrant of Jacksonville, Florida. As of 2024[update], the first phase has been built, linking Interstate 10 (I-10) near Whitehouse with SR 21 (Blanding Boulevard) in the Middleburg area. The second phase to Green Cove Springs is currently under construction, and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025.
The ultimate plan is for a 46.5-mile (74.8 km) four-lane controlled-access, electronically-tolled highway between I-10 and I-95. The total investment in the entire highway is estimated at $2 billion. Construction of the final section began 2024 and is expected to be completed by 2032. It extends from near Green Cove Springs, crosses the St. Johns River, then continues east through fast-growing northern St. Johns County to a point approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north of the World Golf Village interchange along I-95.
The First Coast Expressway begins at an interchange with US Highway 90 (US 90, Beaver Street). Shortly after, the expressway heads southbound towards a cloverstack interchange with I-10. Following the major interchange, the freeway widens to two lanes and continues south towards interchanges with POW-MIA Memorial Highway and SR 134 (103rd Street), providing access to the nearby Cecil Field. The highway continues through the suburban outskirts of Jacksonville before crossing into Clay County following the interchange with Argyle Forest Boulevard/Oakleaf Plantation Parkway. The expressway follows a pair of frontage roads from the second interchange with Oakleaf Plantation until the half-diamond interchange with Old Jennings Road. The highway continues for roughly a mile (1.6 km), passing by St. Vincent's Hospital, until it reaches its current southern terminus at SR 21 (Blanding Boulevard) near Middleburg.
The plans for connecting I-10 to SR 21 (Blanding Blvd) date back to 1979. SR 23 was originally planned as a toll road by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise to meet those plans, but those plans fell through in 1997.
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority and Clay County worked together to connect Branan Field Road in Clay County and Chaffee Road in Duval County. By 2003, the Duval County section was open, and connected south to Branan Field Road in Clay County. By late 2004, the Clay County section was added. Currently the entire route stretches from I-10 in Jacksonville to SR 21 (Blanding Blvd) in Middleburg.
The project was formerly known as the First Coast Outer Beltway and the Branan Field-Chaffee Expressway, but its current name is the First Coast Expressway.
The partial outer beltway when finished will contain 17 interchanges and a new bridge across the St. Johns River in place of the current two-lane Shands Bridge.[2]
Funding for the $1.8 billion project will be competitively bid as a public-private partnership (PPP) opportunity for private sector businesses. By using a PPP and innovative contracting solutions, the project will be built years earlier than with traditional contracting methods. The awarded contractor(s) will serve as the concessionaire to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the beltway. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is currently engaging private contractors in a competitive bidding process. The I-595 Corridor Express PPP with I-595 Express LLC was the first of its kind in Florida, opening years ahead of schedule.[3] The beltway is the one of largest public infrastructure projects to be undertaken in Northeast Florida.
In early 2011, FDOT abandoned the plan to find a private company to build the entire 46.6-mile (75.0 km) beltway and just focus on building the 15 mile section between I-10 and SR 21 (Blanding Boulevard). This section is partly built and would need flyovers built and widening done for the expressway to be complete. It is expected to cost around $291 million and would be a tollway.[4]
In August 2011, FDOT announced that the Florida's Turnpike Enterprise will be taking on the $291 million project of turning the 15-mile (24 km) stretch into a tollway.[5] Construction started on September 10, 2012, and was completed in 2017.
Construction on the second phase of the expressway, from SR 21 (Blanding Boulevard) to Green Cove Springs started in October 2019 and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025. The third and final phase of the project, which includes replacement of the Shands Bridge, started in May 2023 and will be completed in 2031.[6] Bridge construction will begin in 2024. Construction on the segment between County Road 16A (CR 16A) to St. Johns Parkway (CR 2209) is expected to start in early 2025, and from St. Johns Parkway to I-95 in late 2025.
According to FDOT, all tolls will be done electronically and compatible with SunPass used in other parts of the state with no toll booths. There will be two exceptions to the tollroad. The three-mile (4.8 km) section between I-10 and New World Avenue will not be tolled to help promote growth in the Cecil Commerce Center. Also people living around the Shands Bridge area will be exempt from tolls on the Shands Bridge crossing the St. Johns River.[7]
Tolls are collected between each exit south of exit 42.[8]