State Road 115 (SR 115) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

History

SR 115 was built in separately named segments by the

Jacksonville Expressway Authority The Jacksonville Expressway Authority was an independent entity established by the Florida Legislature in 1955. They owned and maintained roads and bridges in Duval County, including several toll bridges, mostly across the St. Johns River. In 1971 ...

. The land for the southern section, south of Beach Boulevard, was donated by Jacksonville's Skinner family. Three siblings – Bryant, Dottie and Richard Jr. – inherited thousands of acres in southeast Duval county and needed roads through the area to access their property and facilitate development. The construction of Southside Boulevard was key to the growth of the south side of Jacksonville.

Route description

Southern segment

SR 115 runs north as ''Southside Blvd'' from its terminus at

US 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...

, providing access for The Avenues. Right afterwards, the road goes through the largely residential and commercial south side of

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

with crossings at Baymeadows Road ( SR 152), Butler Boulevard ( SR 202), Beach Boulevard (

US 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. With the exception of a short-lived ...

), and Atlantic Boulevard ( SR 10). At the Southside Connector ( SR 113), SR 115 turns sharply to become the

Arlington Expressway The Arlington Expressway, which carries the unsigned State Road 10A (SR 10A) and mostly also the signed State Road 115 in Jacksonville, Florida, is a freeway that heads east from Downtown Jacksonville over the Mathews Bridge to Atlantic Bouleva ...

, heading west into downtown via the

Mathews Bridge The Mathews Bridge is a cantilever bridge in Jacksonville, Florida, which spans the St. Johns River. Constructed in 1953, the bridge brings traffic along the Arlington Expressway between downtown Jacksonville and the Arlington neighborhood. It ...

, where it turns north, becoming the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway (former Haines Street Expressway), and again turning to the west along with the MLK Parkway (now the former 20th Street Expressway), before reaching

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

. The portion on the MLK Parkway is signed only as US 1 Alt. and

, not SR 115. The southern segment serves primarily as a conduit between the residential neighborhoods of

Southside Southside or South Side may refer to: Places Australia * Southside, Queensland, a semi-rural locality in the Gympie Region Canada * South Side, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the St. George's Bay area on the southwest coast of New ...

and the commercialized areas farther north and downtown. Heavy traffic is commonplace along most of the road. To improve traffic flow, especially during rush-hours, the

FDOT The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of t ...

is planning a major redesign of the intersections just north and south of the interchange with SR 202 (Butler Boulevard) to be carried out by the mid-2020s.

Northern segment

Approximately two miles of SR 115 run unsigned along I-95. The second section of signed road runs from the junction of I-95 and Norwood Avenue ( SR 117) through northwest Jacksonville, passing through the Lake Forest section of the city before crossing a bridge over the

Ribault River Ribault River is a tributary of the Trout River. It is located entirely in Jacksonville, Florida. The river is named after Jean Ribault, a French naval officer. The river's headwaters are near Old Kings Road at an elevation of above sea level. ...

, where it enters Riverview and then crosses another bridge over the Trout River into the eastern edge of the College Park neighborhood, before entering the Garden City neighborhood at the intersection with

Florida State Road 104 State Road 104 (SR 104), locally known as Dunn Avenue, is a state highway that travels through the northern part of Jacksonville in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It connects US 1/ US 23 with US 17. ...

. FL 115 continues through Garden City, until the interchange with

I-295 Interstate 295 is the designation for several Interstate Highways in the United States: *Interstate 295 (Delaware–Pennsylvania), a bypass of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania *Interstate 295 (Florida), a beltway around central Jacksonville *Interstate 29 ...

and runs between the Forest Trails and the territory near the

Jacksonville International Airport Jacksonville International Airport is a civil-military public airport 13 miles (21 km) north of Downtown Jacksonville, in Duval County, Florida. It is owned and operated by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. History Construction star ...

before crossing a bridge over the Thomas Creek where it crosses the Duval-Nassau County Line, and ending at New Kings Rd (

US 23 } U.S. Route 23 or U.S. Highway 23 (US 23) is a major north–south U.S. Highway between Jacksonville, Florida, and Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is an original 1926 route which originally reached only as far south as Portsmouth, Ohio, and has since ...

) in

Callahan Callahan may refer to: *Callahan (surname) Fictional characters *Father Callahan, in Stephen King novels *Harry Callahan (character), in ''Dirty Harry'' movies * Jack Callahan (''Neighbours''), from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' *Mik ...

. The northern segment has the same function as the southern, except that it is built to lower standards and carries traffic south from the densely populated areas northwest of downtown into the heart of the city. Northbound, it is also an alternative to US 1/US 23 as a route to Callahan.

Exit list

SR 115A

Two unsigned sections of State Road 115A (SR 115A) exist in close proximity to each other east of

Downtown Jacksonville Downtown Jacksonville is the historic core and central business district (CBD) of Jacksonville, Florida USA. It comprises the earliest area of the city to be developed and is located in its geographic center along the narrowing point of the St. Jo ...

. One is the approximately stub of MLK Parkway south of SR 115; the other carries US 1 Alt. for between the

Hart Bridge The Isaiah David Hart Bridge is a truss bridge that spans the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. It carries U.S. Route 1 Alternate (US 1 Alt.) and State Road 228 (SR 228). It is named after Isaiah Hart, the founder o ...

( SR 228) and MLK Parkway (SR 115). Some sources (including FDOT's

straight line diagrams A straight-line diagram (abbreviated SLD) is a diagram of a road where the road is shown as a straight line. Such diagrams are usually produced by a highway department, and display features along the road, including bridges and intersecting ro ...

) indicate a third SR 115A on the ramps connecting SR 115 to

at exit 340.

References

{{reflist 115 115 115 115