JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Drivers headed down Philips Highway in Jacksonville will see construction and all kinds of signs, but some of those signs identifying the road have been misspelled.
The stretch of U.S. 1 through Jacksonville that was named for Duval County Judge Henry Bethune Philips should have only one letter L. But some new highway signs posted in the last three months spell it Phillips, instead.
Judge Philips, who helped build the Florida Highway system, drafted legislation in 1921 creating the state highway department, the forerunner of the Florida Department of Transportation.
DOT, which maintains the road, said the misspelled sign was not posted by DOT. The department blames the city of Jacksonville, which puts up the street signs.
The city did an inventory Monday and found both the city and the state made mistakes with the signs, and now they're working with DOT to correct the problem.
Business owners along Philips Highway said they've noticed the discrepancy.
“It's crazy. Half of it's one way, then the other half's another way, and it's actually supposed to be with one L,” said Mike Akel, who owns the Famous Sandwich and Sub shop, on Philips Highway.
Akel said you would think the city would get it right.
“You're going to have everybody with one L after the family it was named after. It should be,” Akel said.
Business owner Bud Worwetz also noticed the misspelled signs.
“I kind of laugh about it,” Worwetz said. “Like I was saying earlier, it would probably be easier for the city to change the name, take a little bit of paint and put an extra 'L' on all of them all the way down to Bayard.”
There is currently no cost estimate for fixing the misspelled signs.