Boston Cemetery road turns toward revival

The unpaved road leading to Boston Cemetery, which has been called “the worst road there is,” is finally on track to be improved.

To get to this point, those involved needed to clear a number of large hurdles. First the property, which has been owned by the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church since 1927, was officially annexed to become part of the city of Oviedo after nearly 100 years of being an enclave. Then officials had to handle the discovery of the remains of 10 people underneath the unpaved road before any other progress could be made.

“Back when we said that we wanted to get this project done, working with [Oviedo Citizens in Action], we realized that there — what we didn’t know — that there were 10 remains, 10 bodies in the roadway,” Antioch Church administrator Stanley Stone said. “We worked with the search committee and they decided that they’re going to move them. 

“So, in good faith, Antioch moved all 10 bodies [into] the cemetery and out of the road,” he said. 

At its Jan. 16 meeting, the Oviedo City Council approved the bid award to construct Boston Cemetery Road for a total construction cost of $370,172. With design included, the total project allocation is $516,804. 

It will build a two-lane roadway with 10-foot travel lanes. The majority of the funds will come from the city’s American Rescue Plan (ARPA) reserve. The project is expected to start in the next two to three months.

“We’ve tried to figure out how to make it work, and staff did a great job of getting the funds to make that work,” Councilmember Bob Pollack said. “We had some hurdles we had to overcome on that process. And so it is underway and it will get done.”