About six years after Orange County approved the project, construction on the widening of Alafaya Trail from two to four lanes from Mark Twain Boulevard to Avalon Park Boulevard will begin on Feb. 16.
Construction to widen Alafaya Trail to four lanes from Mark Twain Boulevard to Avalon Park Boulevard will start March 21. Residents living along that portion of Alafaya Trail packed the Stone Lakes Elementary cafeteria last week to learn every detail of the project.
Orange County Public Works staff promised reduced speeds, travel-lane shifts, uneven pavement, construction vehicles, a littering of construction barrels and everything else typical of road construction. Plans to work on the road each weekday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the next three years had some in the audience groaning, but many residents say the headache is worth it.
“It’s always painful during construction, but that’s expected,” said Rebecca Gault of Stoneybrook. “Right now we’re trapped if we leave at certain times during the day. It can take 10 minutes to get from Stoneybrook Boulevard to Golfway Boulevard in the morning. I don’t think we’ll have the same back ups after construction.”
Roadwork will start on the north end of the road with the construction of a temporary lane to ease traffic congestion and the installation of water mains and retention ponds. Eventually, the sidewalks will flank the roadway along with a paved median, a 10-foot multipurpose path on the east side of the road and a traffic light at Stoneybrook Boulevard. The completion date is 2013.
“The next couple of years are going to be tough but hopefully it’ll be better in the end,” Orange County District 4 Commissioner Jennifer Thompson said.
The county said they’d work with the contractor to make sure construction vehicles are not clogging smaller roadways within the neighborhoods that hug Alafaya Trail. They would instead use Alafaya or State Road 528.
Down to business
Residents also asked about access to the businesses along the corridor. County staff said the contractor will post business signs to ensure each establishment is still visible from the roadway, and although there will be some driveway disruption, it should be minimal.
“Construction is just a part of what we need to go through, but it will be good in the long run,” said Valerie Finello, office manager of H&R Block in the Shoppes of Eastwood plaza. “Those people in Avalon Park and Stoneybrook have it tough. This will allow them to come down here more.”
But Bharti Lalwani, president of Discovery Zone II Preschool in the Alafaya Village plaza, said the road is wide enough.
“None of the parents who come here complain about the road, and the construction will affect my business,” the Windermere resident said. “As a business owner, I do not see the need to enlarge the road.”
Lalwani did say lighting is an issue. “It’s pitch dark when I leave for the day,” she said. “It’s a little scary.”
Alafaya Trail is now nearly void of streetlights. The county was originally going to line the road with lights, but in order to save $250,000 from the project, they nixed it. Gas taxes and impact fees pay for street light components in construction projects and since the economy declined, all lighting and landscaping has been suspended from county projects for the next three years. This has been a big issue with residents living along the corridor and there have been conversations about creating a special taxing district to pay for the improvements, sans county money.
Thompson said she plans to meet with homeowners association leaders to assess resident interest in this. Creating such an assessment would require a referendum with 60 percent of citizen vote and ultimate approval from the Orange County Board of Commissioners. Thompson said lighting could be added back to the project if the economy improves.
Waterford Lakes Community Association President Ken Zook said residents should not be on the hook for lighting. “The county needs to provide the things you see every day, the basics. I’d be disappointed if they had to set up a taxing district for lighting,” he said.
Gault agreed but said it makes no sense to encourage people to be on the roadway more, with new sidewalks and bike paths, but not provide lighting.
“I understand, but I’m still upset they’re cutting lights from the project,” she said.
Thompson said the county is currently testing solar-powered streetlights on Innovation Way. Since the county has funds to install streetlights but not to operate them, this could be a viable option for Alafaya Trail, she said. But they have to wait for the testing results.
Lalwani also expressed concern for the speed limit on the roadway, saying 55 mph is too fast for Alafaya. The county said the speed limit will be lowered to 45 during construction and could be a permanent change.
Also during the meeting, the county said roadwork on Woodbury Road in Waterford Lakes is slated to end next month.
For questions about construction, contact Orange County’s William Totlen at 407-836-7911 or Steven Stokes at 321-354-7395. If problems occur with construction or roadway maintenance, residents should call 3-1-1. The county also plans to have quarterly meetings with the community to keep them informed about the construction and there will be regular updates on Thompson’s blog at jenniferthompson.net