River Road will receive new striping and signage in the coming months. The work will be done from its intersection with County Road 121 to its intersection with U.S. 1. The road is also scheduled for repaving in mid-2025. Photo by Kathie Sciullo
Kathie Sciullo
NCR Reporter
River Road will receive new striping and signage to make the asphalt more visible to motorists.
The federally-funded project covers the road from its intersection with County Road 121 to where Brandies Avenue meets U.S. 1.
“The improved striping and signage must be completed before December of this year,” Deputy County Manager and County Engineer Robert Companion emailed.
The Nassau Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a $174,470 bid from Traffic Control Products of Florida, Inc. June 24.
The Tampa-based company will begin adding signage and striping to areas along River Road in 30-60 days. The project will take three to four months to complete.
The funds must be utilized now or returned. It will again need restriped when fresh asphalt is applied in mid-2025.
“While we tried to make the projects align to use the striping grant funding to augment the resurfacing, it was not possible to meet the timeline for the grant,” Companion emailed. “Turning down or rejecting funding received for a facility from state or federal sources will typically lead to also forfeiting any possible future state or federal grant funding as well for future upgrades to that facility.”
He told of how a similar funding situation occurred with Chester Road.
“The county received and then ultimately rejected the funds from a grant allocated to Chester Road,” Companion noted. “As a result, (the Florida Department of Transportation) notified the county that no future funding would be allocated to Chester Road as a result. In other words, the county is on its own for funding improvements to Chester Road now and in the future due to that short-sighted decision. We want to be sure we do not run afoul of any grant requirements or reject funding so as to protect our ability in the future to apply for grant funding for River Road if/when it is needed.”
The upcoming project includes the installation of signs “with flashing beacons (that) will provide drivers with more emphasis on certain sign information, similar to a flashing red light on a stop sign,” Companion emailed.
The work is included within the county’s 22-year pavement management plan that was implemented during the 2021-22 fiscal year and continues through 2042-43.