“We’ve been promised this for so long” Construction starts on new road linking Orange, Lake Counties

“We’ve been promised this for so long” Construction starts on new road linking Orange, Lake Counties

Sabrina Maggiore

Fri, December 12, 2025 at 2:02 AM UTC

2 min read

Construction has begun on a long-awaited road connecting Orange and Lake Counties. It promises Lake County residents direct access to State Road 429, Disney World, and Winter Garden by March 2027.

The road, which has been in the works for over a decade, has been a source of frustration for Lake County residents who protested the lack of progress, and even created their own cut-throughs on unpaved land.

But according to Orange County, the private developer building the road, MI Homes, got a notice proceed with construction on November 24th. Construction should be complete within 14-months.

On Thursday, Channel 9 saw a crew clear debris away from about a quarter-mile stretch connecting Sawgrass Bay Boulevard to Flemings Road.

“We’ve been promised this for so long and you know it seems like it should be such an easy thing to do,” said Debbie Running, a Lake County resident. “My son-in-law works at Disney… So he’s been having to drive forty-five minutes extra each way every day” said Jeff Kolar, another Lake County resident.

Residents have been eagerly awaiting the completion of the road, which will significantly reduce travel time to major destinations.

Channel 9 timed out the existing route to get from Sawgrass Bay Boulevard to Flemings Road, which currently involves taking U.S. 27 then US.192 and Avalon Road. The trip took just under 23 minutes with no traffic right around 1:30 pm on Thursday.

The new road connection promises to cut that commute to less than 5 minutes.

According to Orange County, before crews could break ground, complicated agreements needed to be ironed out with Lake County and private property owners.

A spokesperson for Orange county previously told Channel 9 one of the final matters that needed to be resolved prior to the commencement of construction were issues related to right of way and easements.

The construction cost for the road is approximately $20 million, and the current timeline suggests it should open by March 2027.

Despite previous setbacks, the community is hopeful that the end is in sight. Debbie Running expressed her relief, saying, “I wanna cry, you know, because it feels like it was such a battle. We’re just glad that it’s moved forward and the end is in sight and even if we have to wait a little longer, we can do that.”

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