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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Below are the updated City of Gainesville traffic impacts scheduled for Feb. 16-23, 2024. 

New Notices

 NE Fourth Ave.: Northeast Fourth Avenue from 2325 NE Fourth Ave. to NE 22nd Ter. will be closed from Tuesday, Feb. 20-Friday, Feb. 23 between 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

NE 13th Street: Northeast 13th Street from Northeast First Avenue to Northeast Third Avenue will be closed from Tuesday, Feb. 20-Friday, Feb. 23 between 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Continuing Notices  

SE Fifth Ave.: Southeast Fifth Avenue will be closed with detours between Southeast Third Street and Southeast Sixth Terrace until Feb. 23.

NW 12th Drive: Northwest 12th Drive from Northwest Fifth Avenue to Northwest Third Avenue is currently closed northbound, but is open as a one-way street heading southbound. This is expected to end March 1.

SW 52nd Street: The eastbound right turn-lane onto Southwest 52nd Street from Southwest 20th Avenue is closed until March 25.

Southeast First Ave.: Southeast First Avenue (eastbound only) will be closed between South Main Street and Southeast First Street until April 1.

Clark Butler Blvd. area: The new traffic signals at Clark Butler, Southwest 62nd Boulevard, Southwest 43rd Street are turned on (in flashing mode). The traffic is guided through the intersection with traffic control devices.

Please be advised that this report covers the roads maintained by the City of Gainesville. For roads within Gainesville maintained by other agencies, please visit the following:

• University of Florida campus road closures
• Alachua County right-of-way road and lane closures
• Florida Department of Transportation right-of-way road and lane closures
• Gainesville Public Works Facebook page

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 ALACHUA COUNTY - Crews from Melrose Fire Department, Windsor Fire Department and Alachua County Fire Rescue responded to a reported commercial vehicle fire on Feb. 10, 2024. 

Upon arrival crews found a semi-tractor trailer 75 percent involved. It took crews several hours to extinguish the fire due to the cargo on board. U.S. Highway 301, southbound was partially blocked creating heavy traffic in the area. As clean up was anticipated to take several hours, fire officials asked that the public avoid  the area if possible. The cause of the fire appears to have been due to a fire in the trailers brakes.

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GAINESVILLE, FL - More than 160 students from elementary and middle schools throughout the district will face off in Alachua County Public Schools’ annual robotics competition. There will be two robotics tournaments running simultaneously at the Lincoln Middle School Gymnasium, 1001 S.E. 12^th Street.

Close to 50 registered teams will demonstrate their skills in developing, building and operating robots to perform specific tasks, all before event judges. There will be team skills contests as well as a Teamwork Challenge in which teams from different schools must work together to earn points.

All teams are vying for a spot in the Central/North Florida State Vex Competitions held in late March, with the chance to possibly compete at the Worlds Competition in May.

The competition is being sponsored by Gas South, whose donation over many years helps to fund the robotics competitions. In addition, the ACPS Robotics Program received money from Info Tech and other local businesses.

On Thursday, Feb. 15, the Opening Ceremony kicks off at 10 a.m. with competition running from 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., followed by the closing ceremony and awards.

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ALACHUA COUNTY - Crews from Alachua County Fire Rescue and the LaCrosse Fire Department were dispatched to a reported structure fire in the 18000 block of NE CR 225 on Feb. 10, 2024. Upon arrival crews found a single wide mobile home completely destroyed due to the fire. The fire had extended into the woods around the property and crews were able to quickly contain and extinguish the fire. Unfortunatley three dogs died in the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

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Photo of typical landfill Special to Alachua County Today

On Feb. 9,2024 the Sierra Club Suwannee-St Johns Group issued the following press release concerning dumping in southeast Gainesville.

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GAINESVILLE, FLA - On Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, seven organizations representing hundreds of residents in Alachua County, sent a letter to the Alachua County Commission urging the County to not honor the Legislative Extension of the Special Use Permit (SUP) that Southeast Landholdings, Inc. had filed. Their original SUP had a stated expiration date of January 22, 2024.

On Dec. 6, 2023. the County learned of Southeast Landholdings intent to exercise the hurricane-related tolling and extension granted under Section 252.363(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2023) [“Tolling and extension of permits and other authorizations”] of Special Use Permit # Z-19-01 for a C&D Landfill Facility on approximately ~48.48 acres located at 3003 SE 15th Street, Gainesville, Florida.

If the Legislative Extension is honored, this action effectively circumvents any public hearing process before the County to vet the continuation of their permit to operate for another 4 – 5 years.

If allowed to continue to operate, the Florence C&D Landfill will expand to double its present height, from 35 feet to 70 feet, all while being situated in the middle of an urban neighborhood in SE Gainesville.

The body of the letter:

We, the seven below-signed organizations ask you to not honor the Legislative Extension of the Special Use Permit for the Florence C&D Landfill.

Approval of this permit would allow the operation to increase in height, nearly doubling the current height of the facility, which operates without a liner, in violation of "design requirements" in FAC Rule: 62-701.730.

• This site was never properly designed to serve as a C&D landfill.

Historically, this site was first permitted an excavation facility called Feagle Fill Dirt (FFD) and according to records FFD had been illegally dumping on the land from the late 1960’s-1983.

When the Department of Environmental Review enforced a closure plan, FFD claimed economic hardship, with the inability to complete the closure plan, unless they were allowed to continue charging for dumping. The FFD operators filed for a variance requesting all regulations that prohibit disposal of inert materials, specifically road construction debris, in standing water.

• Water quality and public health for neighboring residents is threatened by continued use of this unlined construction and demolition debris landfill.

• Records of the pollution plume from the facility demonstrate the flow moving towards Boulware Springs and Paynes Prairie, both important public resources.

• There is no requirement to continue the use of Florence C&D Landfill.A recent presentation from the Alachua County staff shared information that shows the present waste sites for disposal have at least 20 years of life, without the Florence C&D Landfill. This provides enough time for zero waste programs to come online to assist with appropriate waste reuse and recycling of these materials.

“Zero Waste” is the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.

• By disproportionally burdening Southeast Gainesville residents, a predominantly Black community, with the noise, dust, and pollution associated with C&D waste greatly hinders efforts to attract both safe and clean investments into this neighborhood.

The residents of Southeast Gainesville have been subjected to the noise, dust, and pollution from this landfill for more than 50 years. This is an environmental injustice that our community must make right.

To protect the health and safety of Southeast Gainesville residents, and to preserve water quality throughout Alachua County, we respectfully ask that you not honor the Legislative Extension of the Special Use Permit for the Florence C&D Landfill and enforce a closure plan in 2024.

Signed by,

Sierra Club Suwannee-St Johns Group

Alachua County NAACP ECJC

Saint Peter Saint Paul Community Council

M.A.M.A. Club

Alachua County Labor Coalition

North Central Florida Indivisible

Florida For All

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GAINESVILLE, FLA. - The Eighth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission has selected applicants for interviews for the vacant Alachua County Judge seat created by the retirement of Judge Walter Green. The interviews will be held Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, beginning at 9:00 am, at the Alachua County Criminal Courthouse, Gainesville, Florida.

The applicants selected for the interviews are as follows:

Time Slot Applicants
9:00 – 10:00 Katherine Floyd, Jonathan Ramsey, Shawn Thompson
10:15-11:15 Eric Atria, AuBroncee Martin, Adam Lee
11:30-12:10 Cary Torres, Dorene Inkeles
1:00 – 2:20 Adam Hapner, Yolanda Means, Adam Stout, Evan Gardner
The interviews are open to the public. Deliberation sessions, which generally occur before the
interviews begin, during breaks, and at the conclusion of the interview session, are confidential.

JNC Commissioners

Rebecca Shinholser, Candice Brower, Christopher Elsey Brent Siegel, Norm D. Fugate, Chair, Lindsey Turner, Vice Chair, Brian Kramer and Robert Woody.

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