What happens to the drive from Marsh Landing to Sawgrass Village, Solana Road, or the JTB ramp once the state finishes reworking A1A? FDOT's June proposal would have added new U-turn signals a few hundred feet from familiar intersections. By mid-September it looked different. The Solana U-turns were being removed, Fairfield's flashing light was staying, and a roundabout had come up on Marsh Landing Parkway itself.
The June plan drew the attention. The changes since then decide what the daily drive will feel like. This post follows that plan from the June hearing to where it stood in September.
What FDOT put on the table in June
The Florida Department of Transportation's project covers State Road A1A from Gnarled Oaks Drive to the Duval County line. The FDOT project page lists an estimated cost of $7.1 million, and the start and completion dates are still listed as "TBD." FDOT and St. Johns County are working on it together.
The project page's summary says through traffic at four intersections would be "re-routed." FDOT's June 2026 Traffic Operational Analysis Report explains what that means on the ground. At Solana Road, a "thru-cut" would block northbound left turns from A1A and westbound through traffic on Solana. Those drivers would go to a new signalized U-turn about 325 feet north of Solana. According to Action News Jax, a westbound Solana driver trying to cross A1A would have to take three steps:
- Turn right onto northbound A1A.
- Make a U-turn at the new signal.
- Turn right onto eastbound Solana.
At Sawgrass Village Drive and L'Atrium Drive, the report proposed median U-turns. Through traffic in both directions would be blocked at the intersection and sent to a new signal about 400 feet south. At Fairfield Boulevard and Sawgrass Drive West, the report describes U-turn points roughly 400 to 625 feet away, with westbound traffic turning at Ponte Vedra Pointe Drive. At TPC Boulevard and Country Club Boulevard, the June summary added offset northbound and southbound left turns for better visibility. Two smaller pieces rounded out the package. The southbound auxiliary lane from Merchants Plaza to Professional Drive would get longer to make merging from J.T. Butler Boulevard easier, and the eastbound right-turn lane at Ponte Vedra Lakes Boulevard would be extended.
Why the state wanted to change these intersections
The June analysis counted 968 crashes on the corridor from 2020 through 2024. That included one fatality, a left-turn crash at L'Atrium and Sawgrass Village on February 17, 2020. The report's combined tally, which also counts 93 crashes from 2025, lists 525 rear-end crashes and 129 left-turn crashes. All eight intersections studied had crash rates above the statewide average for similar intersections. Solana's rate was 0.950 against a statewide 0.53, and Fairfield's was 1.003 against 0.53.
FDOT's field observations included queues on Solana, a southbound A1A backup of about 1,000 feet at L'Atrium and Sawgrass Village, and drivers at Fairfield waiting in the median opening for a gap in traffic. The Ponte Vedra Recorder reported FDOT's estimates of how much time the redesign would save. At TPC Boulevard, the average delay would fall from 38 seconds to 16 in the afternoon peak. At Sawgrass Village Drive, it would fall from 37 seconds to 14.
What the June 23 hearing changed
The in-person hearing was held at THE PLAYERS Community Senior Center on Landrum Lane. News4JAX described a packed room. Speakers said the redesign was more complicated than it needed to be. Several suggested solid turn signals or new traffic lights instead. FDOT Public Information Officer Meg Ross told the station, "Nothing's yet finalized," and said the agency's main goal was to "decrease congestion while also increasing safety," specifically at Solana Road, TPC Boulevard, and Sawgrass Village Drive.
The Recorder reported that County Commissioner Krista Joseph suggested picking just one of the proposed improvements instead of all of them. Speakers also raised the loss of palm trees and wildlife. Kitty Switkes, who chairs the Municipal Service District of Ponte Vedra Beach, put her concern this way: "It's going to cause a lot of confusion, and I am not sure how school buses and trucks are going to make those U-turns."
The U-turns and the trees were the two concerns raised most often that night, and both shaped every revision that followed.
Where the plan stood after August and September
At the MSD's August 10 meeting, trustee Mickey White said there had been a lot of confusion after the hearing. White sits on the Community Traffic Task Force, which put out an educational summary. Commissioner Joseph then sent a notice listing steps the state and county had agreed on, according to the Recorder. At the September 14 meeting, St. Johns County Public Works Director Greg Caldwell said his department was working with FDOT on an alternate plan. He said the plan removes every U-turn at A1A and Solana and might affect only one tree, the Recorder reported.
| Location | June FDOT proposal | Latest direction reported |
|---|---|---|
| Solana Road | Thru-cut with a new U-turn signal about 325 feet north | Alternate plan removes all U-turns at A1A and Solana |
| Fairfield Blvd / Sawgrass Dr West | Through and left-turn movements re-routed to U-turn points | Flashing light stays as it is, with no U-turns |
| TPC Blvd / Country Club Blvd | Through traffic re-routed, offset left turns | Intersection upgrade and offset left turns |
| Sawgrass Village Dr / L'Atrium Dr | Median U-turns at a signal about 400 feet south | East-west crossings of A1A unchanged under the alternate plan |
| JTB exit at Marsh Landing Parkway | Not part of the June package | Roundabout listed among the agreed steps |
| Palm trees | Removals were a concern raised at the hearing | Protection listed among the agreed steps |
Caldwell said the main advantage of the new plan is that drivers crossing from the east side of A1A to the west side, or the other way, would make the same movements they make now. He also said the updated plan still delivers the same results as FDOT's original model.
"The new plan removes U-turns and minimizes tree impact while still providing the same traffic relief."
Greg Caldwell, St. Johns County Public Works Director, as reported by the Ponte Vedra Recorder
For Sawgrass Village in particular, that is a big change from June. Under the median U-turn design, a trip straight across A1A to the shopping center would have meant a detour to a signal about 400 feet south. If the east-west crossings stay as they are, that trip stays the same too.
The intersection at Marsh Landing's own front door
The June package left the Marsh Landing Parkway signal at A1A alone. The roundabout in the August list is a different project, aimed at the spot where the J. Turner Butler Boulevard exit ramp meets Marsh Landing Parkway.
That idea came from Jacksonville Beach. In December 2025, Action News Jax reported that the Jacksonville Beach City Council had asked FDOT to prioritize safety projects there, with a roundabout as one option for drivers coming off the JTB ramp. As of that report, the Jacksonville Beach Police Department had counted more than 120 crashes at the intersection since 2014, with 34 in the previous five years. The police chief called that number "crazy high." Dennis Barron, the city's director of public works, said, "For safety purposes, with the amount of crash data, something's going to happen here."
Traffic on the parkway has also grown. FDOT counts cited in the same report show Marsh Landing Parkway going from 10,500 vehicles a day in 2020 to 12,500 in 2024, an increase of about 19 percent in four years.
That means the change with the most direct effect on Marsh Landing traffic was requested by a neighboring city the winter before the hearing, and it joined the A1A conversation only after the summer's back-and-forth. When it reported the request, Action News Jax gave no schedule, and FDOT said it would share details once conceptual plans were ready.
What hasn't been settled
As of mid-October 2026, several pieces are still open:
- Final design. Caldwell said in September that Public Works was still refining the alternate plan and checking that it could be built. No revised drawings have been published.
- Schedule. FDOT's project page still lists the start and completion as "TBD" and still shows only the June 2026 hearing materials.
- Public outreach. Caldwell said there would be "some type of interaction with the public" once the plan is final.
- The roundabout. No FDOT design, funding decision, or timeline for the Marsh Landing Parkway roundabout had been made public as of this writing.
The MSD meets monthly at Christ Church, and that is where both the August and September updates were first reported. FDOT's June meeting boards, hearing handout, and traffic analysis are still available from the project page for anyone who wants to compare the original proposal with whatever the county releases next.
Road projects like this one shape how a neighborhood's front door works, from the morning drive to how easily buyers get in and out of the area during showings. If you're thinking about listing a Marsh Landing home while the plan for A1A and Marsh Landing Parkway is still being worked out, Michael Wright and Suzi Ford can walk you through how to present access and location clearly, and they'll keep up with each update so you aren't caught off guard. Contact Us.
