WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – Several residents in the Verde Park community invited News 6 into their backyards Wednesday, saying the expansion of Florida’s Turnpike near mile markers 272 and 273 has changed the way they live at home.
“When my wife and I purchased our home… you looked out, you couldn’t see the turnpike,” resident Sean Legasse said. “You could hear it… but it really was almost no visibility. Now it’s completely unobstructed.”
Neighbors say trees were removed during construction, opening up the sound even more.
“We can’t enjoy it. It’s that simple,” said Linda Nemecek. “You just can’t enjoy it. We did not plan on this when we purchased the house.”
Residents say the noise is especially bad during busy traffic times with large trucks, motorcycles and morning commuters.
“You can’t talk even like this,” said Legasse. “You gotta scream. And then at some point you just go back inside.”
Some neighbors also say the years-long construction process caused vibrations and damage to homes.
“The majority of us experienced damage to our homes,” Legasse said. “I had structural cracks in my ceilings.”
Now that the project is mostly complete, residents say they want Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise to conduct another sound study and reconsider installing sound walls.
Neighbors say a previous sound study was conducted years ago, before the expansion was complete and before many of the homes in the area were finished.
“Just do another sound test,” one resident said. “Follow your own rules and do what’s right.”
Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise acknowledged News 6’s questions Wednesday afternoon and said it is working on a response, but would not be able to provide a statement before deadline.