A number of rural residents along Nova Road and Old Melbourne Highway east of St. Cloud, attended a public hearing on the proposed route of the Sunbridge Parkway Extension last week.
The design phase for the new roadway will begin later this year. It will connect U.S. 192 to the proposed Sunbridge Parkway toll road (State Road 515), being constructed in phases, with Phase I starting soon in Orange County with an interchange with the State Road 417 toll road at the southern end of the Orlando International Airport. The proposed road uses the existing Botanical Boulevard as the start point at U.S. 192, then a section of Old Melbourne Highway before going north to terminate at Nova Road. The exact location of a connection point, north of Nova Road, with the Sunbridge Parkway toll road, has not yet been determined.
The Central Florida Expressway Authority says the Sunbridge Parkway toll road and the Osceola County extension road are intended to relieve traffic on the perpetually clogged Narcoossee Road, but are also needed to gain full access to the 27,000-acre Sunbridge development by the Tavistock Development Company and Suburban Land Reserve (SLR), a land development affiliate of Deseret Ranch.
Despite concerns expressed by area residents at a previous community meeting on the proposed road, hosted by Osceola County District 5 Commissioner Ricky Booth in March 2025, the proposed alignment appears basically unchanged. At that 2025 meeting, with the proposed alignment shown running just east of the Bay Lake Ranch community, several residents had asked if the road could be shifted further east. Other commenters from the 2025 meeting asked if the Sunridge Extension could be a frontage road along State Road 515, similar to the configuration of State Road 46 along the Wekiva Parkway in Seminole County. Commissioner Booth and the senior county staff present in 2025 committed to evaluating that option.
No elected officials were present at the Wednesday meeting, and many residents were dismayed that the current plan keeps the same alignment along the eastern edge of Bay Lake Ranch. At this point, only a determination remains whether to use roundabouts or traditional traffic signals at three intersections on Old Melbourne Highway: at Botanical Boulevard, Bronco Drive, and the new section running north-south to run along the Bay Lake Ranch community.
As a public hearing, written comments from the public were accepted, and residents posed verbal comments and questions for the record. Despite several county staff and project consultants present, no responses were given at the meeting, however written responses will be sent to commenters and incorporated into the public record for the project.
This format appeared to frustrate several people attending the meeting. Numerous comments were made concerning the impacts of increased traffic and noise on the now rural area, and the threat to wildlife. There are two wildlife crossings planned along the route. Other comments included the suitability of the existing infrastructure on Botanical Blvd., which has been closed frequently due to various issues with drainage and water and wastewater utilities under the road. Others asked what avenues existed to halt the project completely. Public comments will continue to be accepted through Feb. 14 through the project website: https://bit.ly/3Obv2GV.
