MUTs are coming to Beach Boulevard at Southside Boulevard.
That's MUTs as in median U-turns.
Drivers turning left from Beach Boulevard onto Southside Boulevard will encounter a new traffic pattern Thursday night as the Florida Department of Transportation implements the MUT concept.
Median U-turns are part of a $7.4 million project adding S-shaped U-turn lanes within the east/west medians on Beach Boulevard. The configuration allows drivers to get on north- or southbound Southside Boulevard without having to pass oncoming traffic turning the other way across Beach Boulevard, as it has been.
![The planned signal-controlled median directional crossover on Beach Boulevard to Eve Drive West.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7eb8cdd/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1518x914+0+0/resize/880x530!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2Fb5%2F1d0df03741ed8857b64e20e2d8f9%2Fscreenshot-2023-05-23-162708.jpg)
Expect MUTs on both eastbound Beach to northbound Southside, and westbound Beach to southbound Southside. The FDOT also will add a stop-controlled median directional crossover on Beach to Newell Boulevard and a signal-controlled median directional crossover on Beach to West Eve Drive, all designed to reduce congestion and improve safety, the FDOT said.
"MUTs are innovative intersection designs that reroute left-turning vehicles away from the main intersection and direct them to a separate intersection, allowing more green-light time for major traffic movements," the FDOT said. "MUTs also increase the safety factor of the intersection through a reduction in vehicular conflict points."
The full project is expected to be done this summer, the FDOT said.