The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is excited to invite the community to celebrate the completion of the Wekiva Parkway.
To honor the hard work, commitment, and patience of all those involved in making this landmark project a reality, FDOT will host a FREE Wekiva Parkway Community Festival from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, February 24, at the Neighborhood Lakes Trailhead, 26656 County Road 46A in Sorrento.
The festival will feature trail tours, bike rides, music, and booths featuring many topics including wildlife and conservation. At 9 a.m., guest speakers from FDOT, Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX), Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise, the Wekiva River Basin Commission, and other partners will participate in tree planting ceremony to memorialize a key part of what the legacy project stands for: environmental awareness.
“This project is truly a marriage of transportation and environmental protection, and we want our communities to realize how special this truly is,” said FDOT District Five Secretary John E. Tyler, P.E. “While we have accomplished completing Central Florida’s beltway, which adds tremendous efficiency for motorists, this project has also saved thousands of acres of land for conservation and helps preserve the natural treasures this area has to offer.”
The last section of the 25-mile Wekiva Parkway opened Jan. 27, 2024, making the final connection between State Road (S.R.) 429, S.R. 417, and Interstate 4. The parkway completed what is now a 100-plus-mile beltway around the region, while helping to protect the natural resources along the Wekiva River, a National Wild and Scenic River and Outstanding Florida Waterway.
FDOT and CFX, in collaboration with Florida’s Turnpike, developed the $1.6 billion Wekiva Parkway with environmental stewardship at the forefront. The Wekiva River Basin provides habitat for rare or threatened species including the Florida Black Bear, Bald Eagles and Burrowing Owls.
Parkway protections included purchasing 3,400 acres of land for conservation, limiting the number of interchanges in natural areas,installing 1.5 miles of wildlife crossing bridges, and moving about a mile of County Road (C.R.) 46A out of the Seminole State Forest to reduce collisions between vehicles and wildlife. A 10-mile trail enhances pedestrian and cyclist safety and improves access to state lands.
The completion of the beltway means added convenience for area residents, businesses, and visitors. Previously opened sections of the parkway are seeing more than 21,000 vehicles a day, making travel easier and reducing commute times. Traffic on the elevated parkway means fewer vehicles on S.R. 46, enhancing safety for people and wildlife.
Work on the first sections of Wekiva Parkway began in 2013, with FDOT opening the first parkway stretch in 2016. The Wekiva Parkway was the first expressway in Central Florida to feature all electronic tolling, for customer convenience and to keep traffic moving.
Project information can be found on www.wekivaparkway.com.
The Apopka Chief and The Planter are weekly community newspapers, independently owned and family operated, that have served the greater Apopka area in Central Florida since 1923 and 1965 respectively.
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