CLERMONT, Fla. — A shortcut nightmare continues for residents of Clermont, Lake County. Last year, they contacted Channel 9 to find out who was responsible for building a road extension near the line between Orange and Lake Counties.
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Work seems to have started, but residents reached out again, saying the project being underway doesn’t necessarily mean their problems are solved
“I’ve been following it in real estate for almost 20 years. They’ve been always talking about this,” said Suzanne Swyers, who lives in Clermont.
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Channel 9 was back here at the border of Lake and Orange counties on Wednesday, where Sawgrass Bay Road connects to Flemings Road.
However, the whole area is blocked off instead of the unpaved shortcut from 2024. “The purpose of the project is to connect Lake County and Orange County to Orange County,” said Jerry Scott, Construction Manager in Lake County.
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Lake County is taking the lead—expanding Sawgrass into four lanes, building a roundabout, and making the connection towards Flemmings—but there’s a roadblock—Orange County can block the connection at any moment.
“The contractor came on board in early and got started in early October, and their contract time is about mid-April,” Scott said. “We’re going to connect very close to Flemings Road. Hopefully, Orange County will have that open.”
Channel 9′s reporter Geovany Dias and photojournalist Declan Loftus timed out how long it currently takes to get from Sawgrass to Flemings—26 minutes and 28 seconds. Using the shortcut, that would have taken less than 2 minutes on foot.
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In 2024, Orange County said they would be working through their public and private partnerships to get the job done by January of 20-26. In the meantime, residents have a message. “Just get it done already,” said Dana Doud, who lives on the Orange County side of the pathway. “After 20 years that they’ve been telling us it’s going to happen.”
Channel 9 contacted Orange County to ask for an update on the timeline. Although the county did not have a date for a conclusion date, they said the project is currently in its design phase.
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