CLERMONT, Fla. — Residents in Clermont took to the streets on Saturday to protest.
They say a connection between Orange and Lake Counties - that would drastically change their commute - has been stalling for years.
“Take down the wall, Take down the wall,” demonstrators chanted as they held up signs on Sawgrass Bay Road. “People at the end of this neighborhood only have one way out. And if something happens, emergency, natural disaster, accidents,” one of the protesters said.
Channel 9 uncovered the problem in April 2024. The stretch of road—just about 50 ft long—connects Sawgrass Bay Road in Lake County to Flemings Road in Orange County. Back then, it was just a dirt road; only courageous drivers would go through the shortcut.
Work has now started—in fact, back in February, Lake County said their part of the extension would be done by April. However, Orange County has blocked off their side of the road, and neighbors say that’s a problem.
“We don’t have any safety or emergency outlet,” Marcus Vivone, a Clermont resident, says. We need to drive, you know, instead of 2.6 miles to the next emergency room. We have to drive around 30 minutes all the way around.”
On Saturday, they held a protest entitled Connect 2025, hoping to speed up the project.
“I give props to Lake County. They’ve done their part, they should be finished up here early summer. Orange County they said that would start in July, that would take about 18 months,” said another protest. “People here say they’ve been hearing this promise for up to 18 years, so we want to hold their feet to the fire.”
The neighbors are now planning another protest in a few days. In the meantime, they have a message to Orange County.
“We don’t need a big huge lane on the other side. In fact, we don’t even want that. We just really want them to open the connection,” said another protester.
Back in February, Orange County said project would be completed by January 2026. Channel 9 asked for an update on that following the protest, but the county has yet to reply.
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