Orange County District 4 Commissioner Jennifer Thompson has been an advocate for the widening project even before she was elected in 2010. She hopes to find a way to include the lighting and landscaping components that were originally planned for this project.
Eastwood resident Bill Smith has been waiting for Alafaya Trail to expand for more than 20 years. His wait finally ended on Feb. 16, when the county started construction on the project that will widen the road from two to four lanes from Mark Twain Boulevard to Avalon Park Boulevard.
The project was approved 2005 by the Orange County Commission. Since then, the 75,000 residents the road serves daily have been dealing with the traffic on what is commonly referred to as the county’s largest cul-de-sac.
“By the end of 2013, we should have a freer flow of traffic than we have today,” Orange County Mayor Theresa Jacobs said. “Alafaya Trail is one of the vibrant economic centers that stems from [the University of Central Florida]. For anyone who has to commute on this road, this is extremely important.”
Renzo Nastasi, Orange County transportation planning manager, said the road will be worked on during the daytime. He said construction always affects traffic but that the county has plans in place to make it as painless as possible.
“The [county’s] Maintenance of Traffic plan will ensure that traffic will flow safely and as efficiently as possible during construction,” he said.
District 4 Commissioner Jennifer Thompson said it took many people to bring this roadwork to fruition.
“I think the breaking of ground is testament to the work that the chamber has done; a testament to all of the residents who have moved out here and have paid their impact fees year over year with anticipation that this road would be built; a testament to the businesses that have sacrificed their life savings to make something happen.”
Change of plans
Smith, along with many other residents who depend on south Alafaya Trail, is unhappy with the changes that the county made to the widening project.
“I have been waiting for this project for 20 years,” he said. “But to be honest, I’m rather disappointed about the removal of the lighting and landscaping components of this project.”
Last month, the county awarded the $30.2 million project to a local construction company minus lighting and landscaping components, which the county has eliminated from all capital improvement projects over the next three years. Cutting trees from this project will save the county $725,000, and the absence of streetlights would keep $730,000 in the county’s pocket, both over the course of five years.
“We, the residents, are getting an inferior project 20 years too late,” he said. “We were promised something better when I moved here in 1990. To make a long story short, I’m not pleased.”
Thompson has been vocal about that her concerns that removing the lighting component from the project will make Alafaya Trail a more dangerous road.
“Let’s make it for the residents and businesses out here, but also to the lives we’ve lost along Alafaya Trail, several of them recently.”
The community meets
On March 3, after press time, there was a community meeting in which Commissioner Thompson brought in various resources to explain what is going to occur for the next two years while construction is ongoing.
Thompson said that people have been constantly promised this project and now that it is being realized, she wants people to know what to anticipate.
“I want to lay out expectations,” she said. “I want people to understand what this construction will mean to those who commute through this road.”
Thompson brought out various people that work with lighting, landscaping, traffic engineering and code enforcement.
“I understand as a resident and someone who uses this road daily that traffic will be tough,” she said. “I do expect that [construction] will be a nightmare, but I'm very much happy that construction is finally beginning.”
