DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. — Families of fallen military service members will now have better access to the Jacksonville National Cemetery thanks to a new road project that just opened.
They spend some time out there at their family member’s grave site and being able to walk through there is so special.
“It’s a very hallowed ground out there,” Steve Spickelmier, the chairman of the support committee for the Jacksonville National Cemetery, said.
Spickelmier said this project makes honoring these fallen heroes much easier.
He served in the U.S. Air Force and Navy and he told me veterans like himself have been waiting for this new 3.4-mile parkway on Arnold Road connecting I-95 and Pecan Park Road to the national cemetery.
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Pat Mulvihill, the president of the rotary club of north Jacksonville, told me this project has been over a decade in the making and cost over $12 million to complete.
The project was funded by the federal government but built by the state, and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) took the lead.
Starting next month, it’ll officially be maintained by the city of Jacksonville.
The new access road will be able to get people to the cemetery much faster.
It will help reduce congestion on Lannie Road by providing direct access for drivers into the cemetery attending funeral services and burials.
“It’s averaging around 8 to 10 a day. This is a very high-volume cemetery, that’s a reason for the need for the roads,” Mulvihill said.
And traffic is only expected to increase as the cemetery is expanding.
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“Every year it’s growing by a couple thousand souls, between 24 hundred and 26 hundred additional souls are going into the cemetery,” Mulvihill said.
The project will help in holding events honoring U.S. military veterans like Wreaths Across America and Memorial Day ceremonies that draw in hundreds of visitors.
“The national cemetery is so important to all us veterans that serve together, like Pat, myself and all the others. It’s something that’s going to be very nice when it’s our turn,” Spickelmier said.
Gold Star families are especially honored at the Jacksonville National Cemetery.
The city voted back in August on renaming the road project Gold Star Family Parkway.
Mulvihill told me the new name will become official in October.