Scott Powers
Five possible corridors are being unveiled publicly to possibly expand Central Florida Expressway Authority’s East-West Expressway eastward toward Brevard County and none of them can avoid going through the environmentally- and politically-sensitive area of East Orange County.
The expressway authority will unveil the five Thursday night at a 5 p.m. public workshop at the Eastpoint Fellowship Church on Old Cheney Highway near Bithlo.
The eastward proposed extension of State Road 408, the main expressway running through the center of Orlando and connecting the east and west sides, has been talked about for at least a decade and there remains no timetable for it to actually get built.
One long-held prospect had it essentially using the current State Road 50 corridor as far east as State Road 528, but last year the Florida Department of Transportation told the authority no, because it has plans to widen S.R. 50, also known as Colonial Drive, on its own.
The area is growing in reputation as one clogged with traffic, and the Orlando metropolitan area’s ties to the Space Coast to the east are growing, so pressure is building to build something.
At the same time, pressure is building to build nothing.
The expressway authority’s latest proposals follow five routes, within roughly a half-mile north or south of S.R. 50, extending from the current last leg of S.R. 408 to roughly where S.R. 50 and S.R. 528 meet between the hamlets of Bithlo and Christmas. The farthest northern corridor roughly follows Lake Pickett Road until it reaches the swampy pasture areas east of Bithlo, then turns south to S.R. 50. The farthest southern route would cut through the Avalon Park community, follow the Econlockhatchee River corridor south, and then turn east to S.R. 528.
All five would require new bridges across the Econonlockhatchee River and all five would enter the pasturelands east of Bithlo, both considered highly-sensitive environmental areas.
Developments in that area – particularly involving the FDOT’s plans to expand S.R. 50, sparked huge political battles in 2016. One large development, titled The Grow, in the Lake Pickett-Econlockhatchee River area, got approved by the Orange County Board of Commissioners, while another, called Sustany, got rejected. Along the way, anti-growth advocate Emily Bonilla got elected to the board of commissioners, upsetting longtime commissioner Ted Edwards, who had voted yes for both developments.
That grassroots opposition – hoping to retain the rural, environmentally-fresh and largely-undeveloped character of Orange County east of the Econlockhatchee River, remains a powerful voice. Bonilla has begun longterm plans to find ways to preserve the area’s character.
The expressway authority is beginning project development and environmental studies on five alternative routes that would push a multi-lane divided, controlled-access toll road eastward through the area.
Spokesman Brian Hutchings said there are no timetables for development of the road, and the no-build option will remain on the table.
