CFX held two public meetings, one virtual, this past week, to unveil plans for the first phase of the State 534 toll road—known to most as the Osceola Parkway extension— that will connect State Road 417 to Narcoossee Road.
Phase 1 is a five-mile stretch that will feature an interchange with SR 417, a half-interchange at Laureate Boulevard, and a one-mile extension of Simpson Road that will connect to the new toll road to Narcoossee Road.
The route new road will be north of Boggy Creek Road, running behind the Spring Lake Village and Turnberry Reserve residential subdivisions. The Simpson Road Extension will run north of the Morningside subdivision. Only two sections of soundwall are planned for the project, based on a 2005 noise study.
During the virtual meeting, several residents inquired about conducting a new noise study and planning for additional sound walls for residences planned and constructed after 2005. In response, CFX officials were quick to cite a Florida state statute that placed the burden on local jurisdictions, in this case Osceola County, to notify future residents of the route of the planned road. They went on to state that no new noise studies or additional sound walls are planned for the project.
CFX officials did offer to provide project updates at community or group meetings. Other residents questioned how the new road could realistically relieve congestion on Narcoossee Road, one of the main stated goals of the project.
Phase 1 is divided into five segments, with construction starting dates ranging from the Spring of 2027 to the Spring of 2028.
Two additional phases will extend the toll road past Narcoossee to Nova Road, northeast of St. Cloud. Phase 2 will extend from Narcoossee Road—the controversial portion through a part of Split Oak Forest—and end in the vicinity of Cyrils Drive. Phase 3 will dive south to connect to Nova Road, with a full interchange planned for a future extension of Jack Brack Road near Bullock Lake. The total project is 14 miles in length, with seven planned interchanges, and is intended to relieve the chronic congestion on Narcoossee Road and other roads in eastcentral Osceola County.
Osceola County is planning the construction of a related road, the Sunbridge Parkway Extension, to take vehicles from the termination of SR 534 at Nova Road to U.S. 192. The road will intersect Old Melbourne Highway just east of the Bay Lake Ranch community, follow an expanded section of the Old Melbourne Highway to the west, and then intersect Botanic Boulevard to access U.S 192. Botanic Boulevard will also be expanded to accommodate the additional anticipated traffic.
For more information on the SR 534 project, and to request a presentation at a community meeting, see http://bit.ly/42Xtt48.
