CR 16A in St. Johns County to Close Three Weekends for Expressway Work

A critical stretch of County Road 16A in St. Johns County will shut down for three consecutive weekends this summer as construction crews working on the First Coast Expressway install underground pipe infrastructure across the roadway. The closures will affect the segment between Timberwolf Trail and River Reach Parkway, forcing drivers onto a detour loop through State Road 16 and State Road 13.

St. Johns County announced the closures will run from 8 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday on three consecutive weekends: July 24-27, July 31-August 3, and August 7-10. The work is part of the ongoing construction of the First Coast Expressway, the 40-mile toll road loop connecting Clay and St. Johns counties that has been under development for more than a decade.

What's happening

The Florida Department of Transportation contractors will close County Road 16A between Timberwolf Trail and River Reach Parkway for 57 hours each weekend to install pipe infrastructure across the roadway. The first closure begins at 8 p.m. Friday, July 24, 2026, and reopens at 5 a.m. Monday, July 27. The second runs 8 p.m. Friday, July 31 through 5 a.m. Monday, August 3. The third closes 8 p.m. Friday, August 7 through 5 a.m. Monday, August 10.

During each closure, traffic will detour via State Road 16 and State Road 13, according to the county's announcement. The detour routing was not specified in detail, but drivers using CR 16A to connect between western St. Johns County communities and points north or east will need to navigate through these state highways instead of taking their usual route.

FDOT District 2 is overseeing the construction as part of the broader First Coast Expressway project, which is being built in segments across Clay and St. Johns counties. The pipe installation work requiring the closures was not further specified in the county's notice, but cross-roadway utility installations typically involve large-diameter stormwater, sewer, or drainage infrastructure that must be placed beneath the pavement and cannot safely occur with traffic overhead.

Impact on commuters and weekend travel

The weekend timing limits disruption to weekday commuters, but the closures will affect weekend travel patterns for residents in the CR 16A corridor and visitors headed to or from St. Johns County destinations. County Road 16A serves as a connector between State Road 16 to the north and developments in western St. Johns County, including communities near the Clay County line.

The detour through SR 16 and SR 13 will add miles and time to trips that normally use CR 16A as a direct route. SR 13 runs north-south roughly parallel to the St. Johns River through Clay and St. Johns counties, while SR 16 runs east-west, forming a primary east-west corridor in the region. Drivers familiar with the area can expect the detour to route them around the closed segment, but the additional distance will vary depending on origin and destination points.

For residents living along the closed segment or on streets accessed via CR 16A between Timberwolf Trail and River Reach Parkway, access to homes will need to be maintained from one end or the other of the closure zone. Construction projects of this type typically maintain local access to driveways and side streets, but through traffic is prohibited. Residents should confirm access routes with neighbors and plan accordingly if they have weekend travel plans during the three closure periods.

The back-to-back nature of the closures—three weekends in a row with only one intervening weekend of normal traffic flow—means the disruption will be concentrated in a short window. That schedule suggests the contractor is working to complete the pipe installation as quickly as possible, likely to meet construction milestones for the larger expressway project.

First Coast Expressway construction context

The First Coast Expressway is a decades-in-planning toll road loop designed to relieve congestion on I-295 and I-95 and open up western Clay and St. Johns counties to development. The project has been built in segments over many years, with some portions already open to traffic and others still under construction. The expressway ultimately will form a 40-mile arc from I-295 south of Orange Park in Clay County, swinging west and then south into St. Johns County, and reconnecting to I-95 near SR 16 in St. Johns.

The route traverses largely rural and agricultural land that has been rapidly converting to residential subdivisions over the past decade. The expressway itself is both a response to that growth and a catalyst for more of it, as master-planned communities and commercial development cluster near planned interchanges. FDOT and the counties fund the project through a combination of state dollars, federal grants, and future toll revenues.

Construction impacts like the CR 16A closures are a routine part of building the expressway's grade separations, bridges, drainage systems, and utility relocations. Pipe installations across existing roads must often be done with full closures because excavation depths and equipment staging requirements make it unsafe to maintain traffic lanes. Weekend closures minimize the economic and commuter impacts compared to weekday shutdowns.

St. Johns County has coordinated closely with FDOT on expressway construction schedules, as the project affects county-maintained roads and requires detours through the local road network. The county's public notice directs residents to FDOT District 2's social media channels and the FL511 traffic-information system for real-time updates, reflecting the state's lead role in managing the construction work.

What happens next

The three weekend closures will proceed as scheduled unless weather or unforeseen construction delays force changes. FDOT District 2 provides updates on lane closures and roadwork through its Twitter account @MyFDOT_NEFL, its Facebook page MyFDOTNEFL, and the agency's northeast Florida roads website at nflroads.com. Drivers can also access real-time traffic alerts by visiting FL511.com or downloading the FL511 mobile app, which provides live traffic conditions, incident reports, and construction alerts across Florida's highway system.

No additional closures of CR 16A beyond the three announced weekends were mentioned in the county's notice, suggesting the pipe installation work is expected to be completed within that timeframe. Once the underground infrastructure is in place, roadway paving and restoration would typically follow, but those phases can often be done with lane shifts rather than full closures.

St. Johns County encourages residents to subscribe to the county's e-newsletters for updates on road projects and other local news. The county's Office of Public Affairs coordinates public information on infrastructure projects that affect residents and businesses, particularly as the county's rapid growth drives ongoing road, utility, and school construction across the jurisdiction.

The CR 16A closures are a vivid reminder of the construction activity reshaping St. Johns County's road network as the First Coast Expressway nears completion and the county continues to build out infrastructure to support one of Florida's fastest population growth rates. For residents in the corridor, the three-weekend detour is a short-term inconvenience tied to a project that will define regional traffic patterns and development geography for decades to come.