This report is from Day 1 of a trip from Mayport, FL back to Norfolk, VA, on August 4, 2003.


A run to Norfolk, Phase 1

Hi gang. For those of you following my exploits as of late, one might wonder about the title. Well, to make a long story short, the ship I'm on pulled into Mayport, FL today, and will be inport for a week-and-a-half or so. I burned a bridge or two and managed to finagle a "temporary duty" run back to Norfolk. Here's the "run" thus far:

- Managed to get my rental car (Enterprise has an office on-base, but they've been busy, thanks to some of my shipmates) around 4pm....packed and on the road at 6pm.

- The FL A1A/FL 10 junction is an odd sort....from what I saw (SB A1A to WB 10), it looks like a SPUI with an EB-NB flyover ramp added.

- While traveling the FL 10 bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway (6 lanes on 2 structures), I noticed that there's a new bridge going up over the Intracoastal Waterway about 2-3 miles further north. Any of the Jacksonville types know what this is for?

- Hopped onto FL 9A for the run around Jacksonville itself. Was somewhat surprised to see that it's only 4 lanes for the most part.  The bridge (and a nice cable-stayed one at that) over the St. John's River is striped for 6 lanes, but has substandard shoulder widths at that cross-section.

- The 65 MPH speed limit on FL 9A was a plus, as was the many 6-lane sections on I-95 north of Jacksonville and through Florida.

- Semi-interesting note: the I-95 mainline lanes between I-295/FL 9A and the Airport exit are in concrete, but virtually everything else in FL was asphalt...

- For those who have traveled I-95 through Georgia recently: did any of you notice that the overpasses on the widened portions are wide enough to carry 4 lanes each way plus full shoulders? I found that curiously interesting. The only exception to that was the section between Richmond Hill and I-16.

- Exit 6 doesn't show up on the former-NG/now-American road atlas...

- From about MP 21 up to Exit 29 was down to 4 lanes (and an annoying 55 MPH speed limit) for some sort of resurfacing project.

- Do any of the Georgia types know when GaDOT plans on widening I-95 near and north of Brunswick? (Exit 29 to Exit 58). This is the only Georgia section of I-95 that isn't 6 lanes or under construction to become 6 lanes.

- A brief (3-4 miles maybe) 6-lane section exists from Exit 58 north.  North of this point is a long section under construction for widening.  A 5-6 mile stretch south of Richmond Hill looks like it's been completed recently.

- Somewhat disappointed to see that the I-16/I-95 junction is a standard cloverleaf.

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