While we move closer for the projected start of the Outer Beltway, some construction is already underway.

Florida Department of Transportation Spokesman Mike Goldman says they are working on service roads in the neighborhoods surrounding some of the road to make sure area residents aren’t burdened by the tolls which will come in a few years.

“That’ll allow people to use the service roads to get from some of the residential areas to, say, some of the shopping areas around there without having to pay a toll,” he says.

And there is still a lot of development going on as well. On Thursday evening, the FDOT held an open house to specifically discuss building noise walls to protect some of the neighborhoods just south of 103^rd Street.  Goldman says they want to get a gauge of how the residents feel so the FDOT can determine whether building the walls would be a good investment.

“We need to make sure what we’re doing is sensible, is feasible.  We don’t want to put up something that won’t work,” he says.

The goal is to have the walls be a part of the initial phase of the Beltway construction.  The portion of Brannan Field-Chaffee Road from I-10 to Argyle Forrest Blvd is scheduled now to begin early 2013.  The portion from Argyle Forrest Blvd- Blanding would begin later that year.  The road would not be tolled until the entire Beltway project is complete, projected now for 2016.

Goldman says if you have any questions on the noise walls, or First Coast Outer Beltway project overall, you can contact the FDOT or visit www.BFCxpress.com or www.FDOTFirstCoastOuterBeltway.com.