Lake Asbury road project expected to wrap up Sunday night giving frustrated residents sigh of relief

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Lake Asbury residents might finally be in for some relief after a construction project that brought plenty of frustration is expected to be completed Sunday night.

Construction on Sandridge Road was expected to conclude on Sunday at 11 p.m. Residents complained about the Clay County road project because it limited access to food, and gas and removed their quick exit from their neighborhood in case of an emergency.

Crews were hard at work Sunday removing roadblocks and barriers along Sandridge Road.

The construction is on a part of Sandridge Road to Henley Road, which is also happening in front of Lake Asbury Junior High School.

“I actually noticed it when I was coming home today that they removed the barricades from one of the neighborhoods and one of the first things I thought of, was, ‘I just want to run up to Winn Dixie, just to get something. I don’t need anything, but just because like I can,’” resident Ashleigh Chase said.

Chase said living in the area during the construction was challenging. She said the shutdown of traffic from parts of Sandridge Road to Henley Road cut hers and other neighborhoods off from easily being able to access the things they need.

What was once a three-minute drive for gas or groceries was increased to a 30-minute trip.

“We’ve had to go to that hospital before when my daughter broke her arm. My son broke his arm. We usually could just go down Sandridge and go down Russell and we’d be on 17 in you know 10 to 15 minutes. Now you have to go all the way out of here to Russell. It’s a whole, you’re making a big circle,” Jessica Duncan told News4JAX.

The project administrator said the detour was not nearly 30 minutes and that the project came years after planning.

The county told News4JAX that the entire road was closed to make the project go quicker with a goal of having it wrapped up before school starts.

One resident said he wasn’t upset about the project because it helped improve the area. But Micah Chase, however, was torn — he was happy the road closure made it safer for him to walk to the park alone but sad because the detour ruined his summer.

“Just kind of ruined my summer because now when we’re going to my grandma and grandpa we have to drive the detour,” he said.