By Fallan Patterson

Staff Writer

Osceola County’s road system will get a partial facelift over the next five years through an infusion of $89.3 million in funding for eight projects from the Florida Department of Transportation.

U.S. Highway 192 will receive the most funding – $53.3 million for two separate projects: $36.1 million to increase the number of travel lanes from Aeronautical Drive to Budinger Avenue over a four-mile stretch heading into St. Cloud; and $17.2 million to resurface the highway from Eastern Avenue to County Road 532, a distance of 2.9 miles. Both projects are slated to begin in 2013.

FDOT funding also included $17.3 million to pay for right of way needed for projects slated  for 2015-16 to increase the number of lanes on Hoagland Boulevard near the Kissimmee Gateway Airport and to shift a segment of that same roadway to allow a buffer area at the end of the airport’s longest runway.

The county also will receive $5.6 million to acquire right of way for improvements to Narcoossee Road  from Rummel Road to Jack Brack Road, a project scheduled for next year. It also will receive $2.9 million to design improvements for John Young Parkway from Pleasant Hill Road to Portage Street in 2013-14 and $6.7 million for construction from Portage Street to Vine Street in 2015-16.

Also next year, with $3.5 million of funding, the county will begin construction on an Automated Traffic Management System center, which will manage traffic signals to improve traffic flow.

State. Rep. Mike Horner, R-Kissimmee, who worked with other community leaders for years through Metroplan Orlando to gather the funds, said he was positive the increased lanes and altered roadways will decrease traffic jams and increase economic development and job growth. Horner said he will encourage FDOT to hire local firms for the construction and design work.

“Osceola County has historically not gotten its fair share of transportation dollars; $90 million is a lot of money (but) we still need to close that gap,” Horner, who was recently appointed chairman of the House Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee in Tallahassee, said. “Transportation is the life blood for economic development.”

St. Cloud Greater Osceola Chamber of Commerce President David Lane is excited about the project on U.S. Highway 192 from Aeronautical Drive to Budinger Avenue as he had been an advocate for more than a decade for a better road system for St. Cloud residents.

Traffic was backed up more than a mile every day 10 years ago for people needing to take the turnpike (Florida’s Turnpike) to work, Lane said, adding that nearly four miles of U.S. Highway 192 will be widened to six lanes, allowing better traffic flow to those residents who commute to Kissimmee or Orlando via the turnpike.

“We’re going to be in great shape in St. Cloud,” Lane said. “Now we’ll have a (road) network to really move people and get the economy moving in St. Cloud.”

In addition to the FDOT project on U.S. Highway 192, St. Cloud also is working on the expansion of Nolte Road, which will provide an additional east-west roadway; the city also will benefit from the Narcoossee Road expansion.

While some officials are concerned about the turnpike overpass near the Osceola Flea and Farmers Market being wide enough to allow for six lanes of traffic to move safely, others think the current space is adequate.

“Is it a little dangerous for high speed? Yes, but it’s better than having the backup,” Lane said. He also suggested designers could work a merging system through the bridge, said.

The roadway construction will also aid in hurricane evacuation and make the major corridors safer for travelers.

“It couldn’t be better for the Osceola community. All the pieces make such a big difference,” Lane, who is encouraged because companies often look at road systems before moving to a community, said. “Usually we’re way behind the curve on this kind of stuff.”

Terry Lloyd, director of aviation for the Kissimmee Gateway Airport, said the road funding for Hoagland Boulevard right of way is just the boost the airport needs to bring industrial development to the nearly 100 acres of non-aviation suitable property the airport owns. By leasing the property to industrial companies who need the airport for shipping purposes, the airport can remain self-sufficient and not need tax money to function, Lloyd said.

The two-lane Hoagland Boulevard was originally built by the military and lacks shoulders. Lloyd said he considers Hoagland Boulevard a “Kissimmee bypass” because travelers can use the road to avoid major thoroughfares that are often clogged with traffic during rush hour. He’s even had prospective companies who looked at the property say something would have to be done about the boulevard for the company to move there.

“It’s basically a county road and it’s been a detriment to do any kind of economic development,” Lloyd said.

Because Hoagland Boulevard is currently so close to the airport’s 5,000-foot runway, a minimum length required for the takeoff and landing of larger aircraft, the airport cannot create a buffer area at the end of the runway. Once the road is realigned, a 300- to 500-foot buffer can be added, Lloyd said.

Overall, Horner said he is looking forward to what the road improvements will mean for Osceola County.

“I am very pleased that the Department of Transportation has shown this commitment to the taxpayers of this county,” he said. “We got everything we wanted. We now have to figure out what to put on our want list.”

Metroplan Orlando, a regional agency, compiles a work plan listing various requested road projects and then recommends to FDOT which projects should be funded.