Project’s total cost is $28M for 1.8-mile section
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the city of Apopka $17.3 million from the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant Program, which will be used to improve Ocoee-Apopka Road, according to a July 16 city press release.
Formerly known as Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability (RAISE), BUILD is awarding money that could cover the majority of the Ocoee-Apopka Road renovation, projected to cost $28 million to cover a 1.8-mile section.
The awarded funds will support the Ocoee-Apopka complete street and trail project, aimed to improve safety and multimodal connectivity and support sustainable growth in the southwest quadrant of Apopka.
Improvements made in this project include expanding the roadway from two to four lanes, adding bicycle lanes, a multi-use path, and accessibility features such as smart lighting, sensors, and enhancements compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The application for the previous BUILD grant was led by former transportation coordinator Pam Richmond.
In 2024, the city collaborated with Kimley-Horn and Associates to give the municipality the technical assistance and strategic insight to put together a BUILD grant proposal, according to the press release.
The city submitted a detailed application that included the following criteria: safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, mobility and community connectivity, economic competitiveness, partnership and collaboration, innovation and project readiness.
The city’s previous grant application fell short of the grant program’s criteria, according to the news release. To overcome that, the team, led by city planner Jean Sanchez as well as the Kimley-Horn team, tweaked the application to help boost the city’s score which eventually gave the city a winning total, the news release stated.
Right now, Ocoee-Apopka Road is a two-lane undivided roadway with no bicycle facilities or bike lanes with existing sidewalks at the Ocoee-Apopka/Harmon Road intersection, Oakmont Distribution Center, and South Bradshaw Road intersection to South Hawthorne Avenue.
The city began gathering public feedback on the Ocoee-Apopka Road project in late 2024.
At the Jan. 13 public input meeting at Apopka City Hall, Mike Woodward of Kimley-Horn said once the city receives funding, the first year would be devoted to project development and environmental study; the second and third year to design, work plan and budget completion; the fourth year to right-of-way acquisition; and the fifth to sixth year to construction.
Along the Ocoee-Apopka Road project corridor, the average daily traffic is 10,117 vehicles. The current traffic volumes discourage people from using sidewalks and bicycling on paved shoulders.
During the five-year period between 2019-2023, 100 crashes took place on Ocoee-Apopka Road: 40 of 100 crashes ended in injury, and one resulted in a death at Hawthorne Avenue, Woodward said at the Jan. 13 meeting.