Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway (Jacksonville)
| Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Maintained by FDOT | |
| Length: | 6.749 mi (10.861 km) |
| Component highways: |
   US 1 / US 1 Alt.
|
| Major junctions | |
| South end: |
 SR 115 in Downtown Jacksonville
|
| North end: |
 US 1 / US 23 in Grand Park
|
| Highway system | |
The Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway is a 7.1-mile (11.4 km) long expressway running along the eastern and northern edges of Downtown Jacksonville, Florida. It carries U.S. Route 1 Alternate (US 1 Alternate) from near its southern terminus to an interchange with US 1/US 17 (Main Street). US 1 follows the expressway to its northern terminus, an intersection with US 23. Despite its name, it is not a parkway in the conventional sense, as it has no limits on truck use and is not located near parks or other beautified areas.
The parkway begins just east of the Gator Bowl, near an interchange with SR 10A / SR 139 to the Mathews Bridge. Continuing north around downtown Jacksonville, the highway bends due west and intersects I-95. The route continues west for another mile before merging with US 23 (New Kings Road).
The entire length of the parkway is included as part of the National Highway System, a system of roadways important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.
Upon its completion in the early 1960s, the road was actually known by two names. The eastern portion, running due north from the base of the Matthews Bridge, was known as the Haines Street Expressway. The northern portion, running due west from the northern terminus of the Haines Expressway, was known as the 20th Street Expressway. Both sections took their respective names from the actual city streets that they either replaced or ran parallel to. The two roads were, in actual operation, a single road, providing a rapid, limited-access route from the Gator Bowl in the southeastern corner of downtown Jacksonville, to the northwestern residential reaches of downtown.
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Wikipedia