Twenty-one years after SR 429 opened from U.S. Highway 441 in Apopka to State Road 50 in Winter Garden, most of that stretch of the four-lane toll road will be widened to six lanes, three in each direction.
Design on a 9.5-mile segment of SR 429 from Florida’s Turnpike north to SR 414 is ongoing and construction is scheduled to begin late this year, ending in mid-2024. The Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) will shell out $263 million to widen that stretch of road, put up some sound walls, and reconfigure a part of the SR 429 interchange at Plant Street in Winter Garden. Sections of SR 429 south of Florida’s Turnpike will also be widened and all of the work is part of a much larger $3.2-billion, five-year work plan for CFX.
Brian Hutchings, CFX spokesman, said traffic numbers along SR 429 from the Turnpike north to SR 414 have climbed recently as the COVID-19 pandemic has waned.
Also part of the widening project will be wider shoulders, known as part-time shoulders, that can be used to temporarily act as travel lanes during emergency response events such as traffic tie-ups or hurricane evacuations.
During the construction, CFX will relocate the exit from northbound SR 429 to Plant Street and add a new all-electronic tolling gantry. The project will also widen and add safety improvements at SR 438/Franklin Street and improve drainage throughout the project corridor.
Working with the Florida Department of Transportation, CFX is also conducting a study to see if an elevated extension of SR 414 from U.S. Highway 441 to SR 434 would be feasible.
The full story begins on page 1A of the Friday, May 28, issue of The Apopka Chief.
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