Florida State Road 202

Infobox road
state=FL
type=SR
route=202
maint=FDOT


length_mi=12.9
length_round=0
length_ref= [http://www.dot.state.fl.us/planning/statistics/gis/default.htm FDOT GIS data] ]
established=1979
direction_a=East
starting_terminus=
junction= in Jacksonville in Jacksonville
in Jacksonville
direction_b=East
ending_terminus= in Jacksonville Beach
previous_type=SR
previous_route=200
next_type=SR
next_route=206

State Road 202 (SR 202) is a highway that extends from U.S. Highway 1 (Philips Highway), in Jacksonville, Florida to SR A1A (Third Street), in Jacksonville Beach, near the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Ponte Vedra Beach, and includes a bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway. To locals, the road is better known as J. Turner Butler Boulevard, Butler Boulevard, or the initialism J.T.B. Except for a half-mile (0.8 km) section from US 1 to I-95, it is completely limited-access expressway. It was constructed in sections by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (before 1971, the Jacksonville Expressway Authority). The first section opened in 1979.

The expressway is named for James Turner Butler, a well-known Jacksonville attorney and Florida legislator who was instrumental in advancing various transportation projects in the region and the establishment of the Jacksonville Expressway Authority. Initially, when J.T.B. opened, it was described by locals as "the road to nowhere". Now -— with the increased growth on Jacksonville's Southside area, as well as at the beaches and in St. Johns County, which has been catalyzed partly by the road's presence —- Butler Boulevard's utility is less questionable. SR 202 now intersects one, but will intersect two, Interstate highways: I-95 and the I-295 loop around Jacksonville (currently signed as SR 9A at the intersection).

In the summer of 2005, construction of a massive, $80,000,000 "mixing bowl" interchange began at the intersection of J.T.B. and SR 9A. When this project is completed (currently scheduled for the end of 2008), the entire SR 9A/I-295 loop around Jacksonville will be signed I-295.

J.T.B. was a toll road until 1988, when the JTA removed all the toll-collection facilities in Jacksonville. Because of the heavy traffic on J.T.B. and projected continued growth in the Jacksonville area, the Florida Department of Transportation, in the early 2000s, conducted a study on making long-term improvements to J.T.B. The results of the study recommended widening the road and creating "inside" express lanes with limited on and off points along the route, surrounded by additional "outside" local lanes, albeit at a considerable cost.

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References