ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Starting this week, the Florida Department of Transportation will be adding rumble strips to a 15-mile stretch of A1A in St. Johns County, with a goal of saving lives.
FDOT said it sees a lot of crashes caused by drivers drifting off the road and wanted to cut down on those numbers. The strips will be added to the road's shoulders and center.
Rumble stripes are an easy and cost-effective way to improve the road, according to the FDOT, and residents seem to agree.
"I think it's a very good idea if it's protecting the bikers and if it keeps people from (going off the road) if they're beginning to fall asleep. Anything that protects the public," said Lawrence Byrnes, a St. Johns County resident.
The project is expected to cover a stretch of A1A starting in Mickler Beach down to Carbaca in Vilano Beach. FDOT officials said there have been 11 crashes in that stretch of road in the past three years alone.
"This is the first rumble stripping project in the Northeast Florida area where we are going to place a rumble line on an existing road," FDOT spokeswoman Debbie Delgado said. "And (on) future resurfacing projects, similar to this, it's going to be a project scope. So this is going to be a new DOT standard that we're starting."
But as the project begins, there are reminders for drivers:
- The project begins Sunday night.
- Road work will run from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday nights through Thursday nights
- If you live in the area and plan to travel at night, plan ahead.
- The project is expected to last a few weeks.