Big milestone achieved with small stretch of road
Slightly more than three miles of Wekiva Parkway in Orange and Lake counties, soon to be part of a toll road around Orlando, will be open by the end of the month.
This roadway spans a big arc between Apopka and Sanford, and the Wekiva River lies between the two cities. This means that building the road could potentially imperil its wetlands, springs, wildlife and forests.
According to a commissioner from Seminole County, Lee Constantine, it is quite an accomplishment that the community was able to come together to make this road possible. Many feared that the suburban sprawl of Orlando would spread to this unpopulated landscape, but several acquisitions served to protect the river.
The purchase of pasture, forest, and abandoned citrus groves to shield two nearby state parks was ordered by the Legislature to protect these areas from development and traffic. One such purchase for $74m was the Neighborhood Lakes property, which is 1,600 acres in size.
Mary Brooks, a spokesperson for the project, said that the short piece of Parkway will link the Mount Plymouth Road in Orange County to the south, rather than link to the congested and rural State Road 46 in Lake County to the north, and save travelers some time. Brooks may be using a local print company to print a flyer about the road, advocating it as a safer alternative.
This roadway spans a big arc between Apopka and Sanford, and the Wekiva River lies between the two cities. This means that building the road could potentially imperil its wetlands, springs, wildlife and forests.
According to a commissioner from Seminole County, Lee Constantine, it is quite an accomplishment that the community was able to come together to make this road possible. Many feared that the suburban sprawl of Orlando would spread to this unpopulated landscape, but several acquisitions served to protect the river.
The purchase of pasture, forest, and abandoned citrus groves to shield two nearby state parks was ordered by the Legislature to protect these areas from development and traffic. One such purchase for $74m was the Neighborhood Lakes property, which is 1,600 acres in size.
Mary Brooks, a spokesperson for the project, said that the short piece of Parkway will link the Mount Plymouth Road in Orange County to the south, rather than link to the congested and rural State Road 46 in Lake County to the north, and save travelers some time. Brooks may be using a local print company to print a flyer about the road, advocating it as a safer alternative.