Expressway Authority approves Lake County to Orlando route study

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Central Florida Expressway Authority approved a feasibility study Thursday to help better connect Lake County to Orlando.

The board had three possible routes, overwhelmingly supporting the third “Southern Alignment” example. That route would connect State Road 429 at the existing Schofield Road interchange to US 27. It would also generate $50 million through a toll road.

There are no simple routes currently. Orange County Mayor Theresa Jacobs said five to 10 years down the road, that will prove to be a major problem as populations surge. Lake County is expecting more than 100,000 new people in the next decade.

"We know that we are going to have a very large population boom, we're trying to get ahead of that curve and start the planning for building a road that's going to make that connection," Jacobs said.

The feasibility study is just the first step in the process; the road would not be completed for another five years.