The long-awaited widening of Alafaya Trail, the first phase of Innovation Way, is finally reaching a… well, a starting point. A beginning to begin of sorts. After having funding, then discussion over funding, then ironing out right-of-way issues, then applying for permitting, it appears that there is now a plan on how and when to start the project.

In 2005, when Mayor Crotty presented his “Blueprint for Orange County’s Future,” the Orange County Board of County Commissioners approved the project to design a four-lane widening of Alafaya Trail. At that time, private developers Stonybrook Marketplace, Avalon Associates, and Morgran agreed to partner with the County in picking up the tab for this 3.74 mile project.

The project includes widening Alafaya Trail to a four-lane divided roadway (two lanes of traffic in each direction), providing for 11-foot wide travel lanes, a landscaped median, a five-foot wide sidewalk, and a 10-foot wide multi-use path.

The proposed widening of Alafaya will take two years to complete. The date for completion has been up in the air for quite some time however. Multiple timelines have been thrown about upsetting area residents who realize that widening the road north of Avalon Park Boulevard from two lanes to four, would at the very least open up a bottleneck that causes congestion all the way up Alafaya.

According to Orange County’s Public Works Engineering Division May 2009 report, the design phase for the widening of Alafaya Trail from Avalon Park Boulevard to Mark Twain Boulevard is 96 percent complete and construction is not scheduled to start until July, 2010 and be completed by July, 2012. One of the holdups includes acquiring a permit from the St. Johns River Water Management District allowing the county to impact wetlands during construction. There is also the issue of a proposed retention pond that affects wetlands on the Stone Forest Subdivision property. Another delay is acquiring right-of-way for the project. Roughly 20-25 parcels need to be purchased by the County before construction can begin.

Article by Johnny Duncan