FDOT: $27M U.S. 192 retrofit includes pedestrian upgrades

  • FDOT Project Manager Kevin Powell (with beard) goes over designs of the U.S. Highway 192 improvements, including what improved lanes and sidewalks will look like (pictured). PHOTOS/DAVID CHIVERS
    FDOT Project Manager Kevin Powell (with beard) goes over designs of the U.S. Highway 192 improvements, including what improved lanes and sidewalks will look like (pictured). PHOTOS/DAVID CHIVERS
  • FDOT Project Manager Kevin Powell (with beard) goes over designs of the U.S. Highway 192 improvements, including what improved lanes and sidewalks will look like (pictured). PHOTOS/DAVID CHIVERS
    FDOT Project Manager Kevin Powell (with beard) goes over designs of the U.S. Highway 192 improvements, including what improved lanes and sidewalks will look like (pictured). PHOTOS/DAVID CHIVERS

A $27.8 million dollar road resurfacing project will include pedestrian upgrades on a nearly six-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 192 between Bamboo Lane east to Main Street in Kissimmee.

At a public hearing held by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) last week at Osceola Heritage Park, state officials outlined the scope of the project with maps, diagrams, and videos, and asked for input from the public as they enter the final planning and design phase. A virtual presentation of the project can be accessed at https://vtour.123bim. com/AAOW/.

“Right now we are in the Phase 2 process,” says Kevin Powell, project manager. “We are constantly looking at the current trends of vehicles and crashes and things like that to make sure our designs are meeting the needs of the public.” The design portion is expected to cost $4.4 million.

Actual construction is scheduled to start in early 2025. The main part of the project will be the resurfacing of the highway for a 5.72-mile stretch, with some minor traffic alterations.

More noticeable will be improvements for walkers and bicyclists along the route. Between Bamboo Lane and Hoagland Boulevard, an existing bike lane will be widened to seven feet on each shoulder of the road. While there are no bike lanes after Hoagland, existing five-foot sidewalks will be widened to eight to 10 feet on both sides, giving more room for both pedestrians and bicyclists. Also, three specialized pedestrian activated crosswalk signals will be installed to give safer crossing points across the busy highway, which is lined with major outlets and shopping areas. These will be at Sevilla Inn, Oren Brown Road and Rose Avenue. A new mid-block crossing is proposed south of Four Winds Boulevard as well as a lane turn and pedestrian improvements at Old Vineland Road.

As for disruption when the actual construction begins, Powell admits, “That is a challenge.”

“We are currently working out a traffic control plan that’s going to be broken up into different phases. We’re still ironing out the details of that. This is a heavily trafficked corridor. We’re trying our best to reduce the impacts of congestion and things like that.”