ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- Christine Garcia can't stand it and neither can a lot of drivers.
"We stay away from Blanding anything after 1:00 in the afternoon if we possibly can because it's so congested," she said.
The busy thoroughfare that runs through Duval and Clay Counties has had ongoing construction for quite some time.
Add in the holiday season and shoppers trying to get to Orange Park Mall, and you've really got a mess. The Department of Transportation says its in constant communication with retailers and Mall staff, trying to meet in the middle.
"We're sensitive to these businesses. We want to make sure that they have adequate access," Mike Goldman with DOT said.
The goal is to build service roads parallel to I-295 and alleviate the very congestion everyone hates. Garcia says she hopes so because something has to be done.
"It takes you 20 minutes to go 1 mile," she said.
"With these service roads, you'll have another access point at Collins to divert some of that traffic into Orange Park," Goldman said.
DOT says the I-295 project near Blanding Blvd. is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2013.
