Which of this year's road projects actually changes an ordinary week on Fleming Island? The expressway got the opening-day news coverage and the Shands Bridge gets the aerial photos. The project that decides whether you can drive to Thunderbolt Park on a Saturday is a short two-lane road at the Town Center Boulevard roundabout, and it's about 40% built.
The 2026 road map around the island splits along one line. What's finished was designed mostly for people driving through Clay County, while the project serving Fleming Island's own errands, parks and short trips is still under construction.
A New Expressway Link Aimed at Someone Else's Commute
At noon on June 29, 2026, the Florida Department of Transportation opened the final Clay County segment of the First Coast Expressway. News4JAX reported that the segment runs from US 17 to Leonard C. Taylor Parkway, and that new signals on that parkway let drivers coming off the Shands Bridge turn north straight onto the expressway. Jacksonville Today put the US 17 end of that stretch south of Green Cove Springs.
FDOT named the beneficiaries plainly. According to News4JAX, FDOT public information officer Jacob Pickering expected drivers in Green Cove Springs and St. Johns County to see the biggest impact, describing it as "a new option to get home quicker" for Green Cove residents who work in Orange Park or Jacksonville and for St. Johns County communities such as Fruit Cove. Because the expressway meets US 17 south of downtown Green Cove Springs, a Fleming Island driver heading south on US 17 still passes through town before reaching it.
Tolling is all electronic. Drivers without a SunPass are billed by license plate. FDOT's First Coast Expressway toll schedule, effective June 29, 2026, lists $0.65 for a two-axle vehicle at the Green Cove Plaza with SunPass and $0.92 by Toll-by-Plate.
The opening also rearranged the State Road 13 and State Road 16 intersection near the bridge into a counterclockwise "triangle." Two legs are now one-way, and SR 13 carries two-way traffic through two new signals. News4JAX reported the pattern stays in place until the replacement bridge is finished in 2030. Anyone who uses that corner for weekend trips toward St. Johns County will be driving the triangle for about four more years.
CR 220 Finished Early
The other big project of the year wrapped up ahead of schedule. On September 25, News4JAX reported that the County Road 220 bridge replacement and four-lane widening was complete and open, with no workplace accidents during construction. Phase 1 started in December 2024 with intersection improvements at Rideout Ferry Road. Phase 2 started in January 2025 and built a new four-lane bridge over Little Black Creek, replacing a bridge from 1947.
It came in early enough to beat its own forecast. As recently as September 17, Clay Today was still pointing to a mid-October opening. The goal was traffic flow and connectivity along the corridor, so this project serves anyone moving along CR 220, including Fleming Island households heading west.
The Unfinished Connector at the Roundabout
Radar Road is where the island's own calendar is still on hold. Clay County started building a new two-lane road on April 6 to connect Radar Road with Town Center Boulevard at the existing roundabout. When it's done, there will be a full connection from US 17 to Town Center Boulevard, with bike lanes, curbs, gutters and drainage improvements.
That's a local road. It ties the island's main highway to the street that runs past the Fleming Island Library, and it gives cyclists a marked lane on the new stretch. While it's being built, the neighbors are the ones absorbing the work:
- Thunderbolt Park: According to the county's road projects page, vehicle access closed on April 12. A crosswalk runs from the Fleming Island Library parking lot to the park entrance for people on foot. The county's later updates haven't listed a reopening date for car access.
- The roundabout: In July, the county told drivers to expect a traffic shift and single-lane traffic through the roundabout for several weeks.
- The church and apartment complex next door: Access has stayed open through each phase, according to the county's updates.
The schedule has moved earlier. The county's July 14 update said substantial completion was expected in June 2027. The September 23 update put the project at about 40% complete, on schedule, with no current traffic impacts, and gave a target of March 2027. If the new date holds, the road would open three months earlier than the county's July estimate.
US 17 After Dark, at Both Ends of the Island
Fleming Island's own section of US 17 isn't under construction right now. The stretches on either side are, and both are mostly being worked at night.
- North, toward Orange Park. On US 17/Park Avenue, a resurfacing project runs from Doctors Inlet to Wells Road. It covers sidewalks, bridge work, signals, guardrails and signs, with overnight lane closures and completion estimated for early 2027.
- South, through Green Cove Springs. A $12.2 million resurfacing and roadway improvement project between Oak Street and Black Creek is changing signals, medians and turn lanes, partly to ease northbound delays. Clay County expects it to finish in late 2026. FDOT's North Florida road and lane closure report for October 17 to 23 listed nighttime lane closures there, Sunday through Thursday, from 6:30 p.m. to 6 a.m.
For a late dinner in Orange Park or a late drive back from Green Cove Springs, both ends of the island have possible lane closures through the rest of this year. On the north end they continue into next year.
The Bridge on the 2030 Calendar
The Shands Bridge replacement is the slowest project and the biggest. FDOT's project page lists a $595 million cost, four lanes, and 65 feet of clearance over the water, compared with 45 feet at the current bridge, with completion expected in 2030.
First Coast News reported this month that the project is on schedule, with crews now building the upper parts of the substructures. A viewer asked the station whether a bridge connected to a toll road would itself be tolled. The station put the question to FDOT Senior Project Manager Sam Landsdal:
"There will be no tolls to cross the river... and you'll be able to go toll-free all the way across the bridge."
FDOT told the station it has no plans for toll structures on or near the bridge, while the rest of the First Coast Expressway will remain tolled.
The new bridge will stand on 73 large piers. HNTB Senior Project Engineer Tom Woods told First Coast News that the 65-foot clearance will let the Palatka shipyards expand and bring in taller boats. A fender system will help keep vessels off the bridge, and the piers have a wave shape built into their design.
The old bridge doesn't disappear entirely. After the new span is finished in 2030, the center of the current Shands Bridge will be demolished and both ends will become fishing piers.
Meanwhile, on CR 220
Closer to home, Whit's Frozen Custard is under construction at 1545 County Road 220, next to the O'Reilly Auto Parts store, in the space Mathnasium left when it moved across the road to 1524 County Road 220. Clay Today reported that there's no official opening date yet, and that progress is being posted on the Whit's Frozen Custard of Fleming Island Facebook page. According to the same report, Whit's has one other location, at 1075 Oakleaf Plantation Parkway.
On Fleming Island, the timing of a road project affects daily life, and for homes near the Town Center roundabout or along the US 17 approaches, it can also affect showing schedules and what buyers ask about. If you'd like to talk through how Radar Road, the new expressway link or the Shands Bridge timeline relates to a home you own or are considering, Glen Hamilton is based right here on the island and happy to help. Let's Connect.
