Oviedo, FDOT celebrate finish of phase 2 of road widening

After spending years brainstorming ways to improve pedestrian safety, countless hours of work and a close relationship between the City of Oviedo, the Florida Department of Transportation and Seminole County, the first two phases of the three-phase project involving the State Road 426/County Road 419 widening and redesign in Downtown Oviedo are complete.

On March 6, the city hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the culmination of the latest part of the project.

“When we first started this project, we went through a lot of issues on the right-of-way side,” Jack Adkins, FDOT District 5 Director of Transportation Development said at the event. “Safety has always been the top priority for the Florida Department of Transportation, and the changes introduced on this project are a shining example of that commitment.”

He said that, hopefully, traffic could ease in that area as they had been working to eliminate traffic delays, as well as making the bike lanes and sidewalks safer for everyone.

“I think that’s really one of our missions, to protect our vulnerable users, cyclists and pedestrians,” Adkins said.

Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek said that she rode her bike to the ceremony and was “amazed” at how much the traffic scenario has improved.

“The bike lanes take us all around town from here to the high school,” Sladek said. “The traffic scenario here, and the ability of our students to get around, has been tremendously improved.”

Bob Dallari, Seminole County District 1 Commissioner, began his political career in Oviedo, rising to Council Chairman while the road expansion project was in its infancy. He said at the event that some of the biggest issues in Oviedo are transportation, traffic and congestion.

“One of the things I learned early on was that to get through the city of Oviedo, north and south, you always had to go east and west because of the limited roads, and this was one of the cornerstones of that congestion issue,” he said.

He said that what most people don’t realize is how long these types of projects can take.

“They have to try to understand that there are regulations involved, the red tape involved, the approvals involved, and then you have to get the money behind it, the cost, then you have to buy the right of way,” Dallari said at the event. 

The project’s early stages had seen a significant portion of the city’s original downtown near the complicated intersection of Broadway Street, Central Avenue and C.R. 419 bulldozed to make way for the widened roads. That included the original Town House Restaurant which is currently operational and Oviedo icon. 

“It’s daunting, and to see a project that is complete, it’s pretty satisfying,” Dallari said.

Speaking during the ribbon-cutting event, Sladek expressed hope for a rebirth of the old downtown. 

“This is a road designed for a downtown, and that is what we in Oviedo are prepared to bring to you,” she said.  

The completion of this project is not the end for road expansions in the city. Dallari said that even though they don’t have a set time, the S.R. 419 project will continue with Phase 3, moving east to Lockwood Road sometime in the near future.