PROJECT NEWS

Section 6: New Wekiva Parkway Section Achieves Next-Level Mobility, Wildlife Protections

May 13, 2022

New Wekiva Parkway Section Achieves Next-Level Mobility, Wildlife Protections

 

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is set to open the longest section of the Wekiva Parkway (State Road (S.R.) 429) as soon as Monday, May 16. This milestone marks a dramatic leap forward in completing Central Florida’s beltway, while helping to protect the resources surrounding the Wekiva River.

 

The four-laned parkway will bring convenience to area residents, making travel easier and reducing commute times between Sanford and Mount Dora, among other destinations. Motorists will now be able to drive for more than 6 miles on the new elevated roadway, getting on or off at the S.R. 429 interchange near Camp Challenge Road in Lake County and via ramps just west of Longwood Markham Road in Seminole County.

 

The S.R. 46 frontage road will continue to provide local access; it will likely see traffic decrease as more motorists begin to take the parkway. A parallel, multi-use trail will enhance the mobility of pedestrians and bicyclists – as well as expand access to the area’s state parks.

 

The parkway features all electronic tolling for the greatest customer convenience and to keep traffic moving. Motorists are encouraged to have a SunPASS or E-PASS to take advantage of the greatest travel savings. Those without an electronic transponder may pay their toll via Toll-by-Plate. The toll for this section for two-axle vehicles is $1.00 for SunPASS customers and $1.25 for those using Toll-by-Plate. To learn more about parkway travel costs, click here.

 

The Wekiva Parkway was designed with the surrounding environment in mind. This parkway stretch contains several wildlife crossing bridges meant to help keep motorists and animals safe in the Wekiva River Basin. The new crossings provide nearly 1.5 miles of space for animals to travel underneath the roadways between the Seminole State Forest and Rock Springs Run State Reserve – about 100 times more space than existed prior to the project. To further reduce collisions between motorists and animals, FDOT also realigned about a mile of County Road (C.R.) 46A out of the Seminole State Forest.

 

For additional information, please contact the project's community outreach team at 407-710-5610. You may also email the team at info@wekivaparkway.com.

 

To learn more about the Wekiva Parkway project, please visit wekivaparkway.com