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.”
Orange County said it is nearing final approval on the construction plans, with minor engineering issues being addressed and environmental permitting almost resolved.
The county released a statement to Channel 9 saying that ongoing negotiations with property owners aim to resolve outstanding issues.
The county also said they are working with Lake County to ensure the timely advancement of the project.
Read the full statement from the Transportation Planning Division below:
On behalf of Orange County Mayor Demings, please allow me to respond to your email. As you know, Flemings Road is a public-private partnership project between Orange County and several property owners within Horizon West Village I pursuant to a comprehensive Village I Road Network Agreement. These property owners largely have the responsibility to complete the design/permitting for Fleming’s Road (subject to the County’s review and approval), conveyance of rights-of-way which they control, funding the County’s acquisition of uncontrolled rights-of-way, and management of the construction contract with partial reimbursement from the County.
In my last discussion with our engineering staff, the County is getting close to being able to approve a final set of construction plans for the project with a few remaining minor engineering issues. Staff discussions with the Army Corp of Engineers regarding environmental permitting have also indicated that we are close to resolution of outstanding issues. The last matter that needs to be resolved prior to the commencement of construction are issues related to right of way and easements. Conversations between the County and Village I owners are ongoing, with both sides desiring to ensure they don’t impact the ability to commence construction of Flemings Road.
With all that said, the current plan is to significantly beat the original agreement’s construction commencement date and allow an appropriate construction duration of eighteen months to complete both Segment 5 and 6. Because there are a few items outside the County’s control, I’m hesitant to provide a more specific date, but I think we are 2-3 months, not 6, from getting Flemings Road under construction.
Regarding the timeline of Orange County’s involvement in the Flemings Road connection to Lake County:
Orange County and Lake County entered into an interlocal agreement on July 11, 2017 (see attached) to cooperate on the road extensions of Sawgrass Bay Boulevard/Flemings Road, Schofield Road and Wellness Way/New Independence Parkway.
Prior to that agreement our Village I Specific Area Plan (see attached 2008 SAP, a type of sector planning document) that included Flemings Road, did not anticipate a connection to Lake County, and there was no knowledge of Lake County’s plan to extend Sawgrass Bay Boulevard to the Orange County boundary.
Following the approval of the interlocal agreement and understanding that Lake County approved plans to extend Sawgrass Bay Boulevard to the county boundary, Orange County and the property owners involved in the SAP negotiated a significant change to their plan and reached agreement on the Village I Road Network Agreement on January 1, 2020. The agreement(click HERE) included the widening and extension of Flemings Road and widening a portion of Avalon Road (CR 545) from Hartzog Road to Water Spring Boulevard (~3.6 miles total).
Orange County then initiated a roadway study for both roadway and completed the study on March 22, 2022.
Following the study the design of Flemings Road was prioritized ahead of the other segment of Avalon Road and is nearing completion.
Orange County has prioritized the widening and extension of Flemings Road and diligently worked toward its construction given changes in state permitting and the timeline that was provided following the execution of the Orange/Lake interlocal agreement.
I appreciate there is significant public interest on both sides of the Orange/Lake County line regarding getting Flemmings Road under construction. We will work closely with Orange County Commissioner Wilson and Lake County officials to ensure we provide clear communication to the public when a schedule is better known. Thank you for reaching out to Orange County on this important matter.
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