CFX seeks input on State Road 429 expansion from Seidel Road to Tilden Road

The Central Florida Expressway Authority is seeking public input regarding the proposed expansion of State Road 429 from Seidel Road to Tilden Road.

The project, which would widen a seven-mile portion of S.R. 429 from four lanes to six lanes with the addition of Flex Lanes, is in the Project Development and Environment Study phase. 

Flex Lanes are wider median shoulders that can temporarily accommodate additional traffic during emergency responses. 

Brian Hutchings, a spokesman with Central Florida Expressway Authority, said the widening of S.R. 429 will increase the capacity, making the flow of traffic easier. 

“Twenty years ago, we opened up our section of 429, so in that time, we’ve had tremendous growth in West Orange County and also Lake County that’s feeding into it,” Hutchings said. “We’ve really seen in some sections traffic volumes double over just in five years, so in order to help alleviate that traffic and keep people moving and meet the current demand as well as future demand, we’re doing the study to widen it down to the end of our system.”

The PDE study considers the evaluation of social, cultural, natural and physical environment effects of any proposed transportation improvements as well as right-of-way considerations and construction cost estimates. It also documents potential project benefits. 

At the south end of the project at Seidel Road, S.R. 429 will be widened to four general lanes northbound and southbound, which will match the lanes in the Florida’s Turnpike enterprise project. 

The expansion will continue to Schofield Road where the outside lanes will transition to the off-ramp. 

The proposed Flex Lanes will begin about halfway between Seidel Road and Schofield Road on the inside shoulder.

From the Schofield Road interchange to the New Independence Parkway interchange, there will be three general use lanes and a Flex Lane on the inside shoulder in each direction. 

The capacity improvements from this project also will include new on- and off-ramps to the new State Road 516 that CFX currently is constructing. The ramps will be near Schofield Road.

There will be six general-use lanes and Flex Lanes on the inside shoulder from the New Independence Parkway interchange to the end of the project on Tilden Road.

Noise walls are proposed on the east side of S.R. 429 as part of the Florida’s Turnpike enterprise project as well as on the west side of S.R. 429 near Lakeside Hamilton, north of Porter Road. Proposed noise barriers also are located on the west side of S.R. 429 just north of the New Independence Parkway Interchange.

There are no proposed noise barriers along the roadway near the Waterleigh community because the noise walls would not be tall enough to provide necessary noise reduction per state and federal guidelines. 

Dry ponds will be added on the east and west sides of S.R. 429 surrounding the Independence mainline toll plaza. Existing cash closets will be converted to CFX maintenance facilities as CFX moves toward a cashless toll system.

CFX is in the process of wrapping up construction later this summer on the widening of a 13-mile stretch of S.R. 429 between S.R. 414 and Schofield Road. The widening from Tilden Road to Seidel Road would be a continuation of the S.R. 414 to Schofield Road widening. 

Hutchings said all the work on the project is within CFX’s right-of-way. 

Once the Project Development and Environmental Study phase is complete at the end of March, the project will move into the design phase, Hutchings said. At that time, further refinements to the project will be made. 

“We will be doing a continuous outreach to the communities, getting their input,” he said. “We’ve heard noise, concerns, we’ve heard lighting and traffic concerns, so those are things we’re looking at to make sure that whatever we build is going to accommodate the local community so not only will they be able to use the road, but it also will not be a negative impact to them.”