User:BryanWeather/sandbox/Florida State Road 243

State Road 243, locally known as International Airport Boulevard, is a 2.255 mi state road in the northern part of Jacksonville. It runs from I-295 to Airport Road. The road's name comes from the fact that its northern terminus is at the entrance to Jacksonville International Airport.

Route Description
State Road 243 serves mainly as a secondary access road for Jacksonville International Airport. The route starts at an interchange with I-295, and runs through mostly wooded areas and light industrial zones. Near it's northern terminus, SR 243 has one intersection at a service road that leads to Airport Road (SR 102) before ending at Jacksonville International Airport.

The road runs between two plots of land owned by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority and the privately owned Jacksonville International Tradeport, respectively.

South of I-295, the road continues as Duval Road, and has a hidden designation of Duval County Road 110.

History
International Airport Boulevard was constructed at the cost of $7.2 million, and opened on May 7, 2004 at 9:30am. Prosser Hallock was in charge of the project. The route benefits those who are coming from the west part of Jacksonville. Beforehand, drivers coming to the airport from the west had two ways to get to the airport from I-295. The quickest way was to take I-295 to I-95 north, and use the Airport Road exit. Another way was to use the Duval Road exit (which now includes International Airport Boulevard) from I-295 and take a winding path to the airport using two local roads—Duval Road and Pecan Park Road. The new road created a straight shot to the airport from I-295 and shortened the drive from the west by about 3 mi.

However, the main reason International Airport Boulevard was built was in anticipation of future expansions to Jacksonville International, and in turn, more traffic to and from the airport. Future plans included expanding the airport's runways in 10 to 15 years, which in turn would result in the demolition of part of Pecan Park Road to make room for the larger runway. Further plans include extending SR 243 even further north, and creating another access point to I-95 via the rerouted Pecan Park Road.