East Magnolia Street bridge could begin $1M repairs next month

Three years after Hurricane Ian, storm damage still lingers in Oviedo due to erosion that has caused a one-lane traffic crawl on East Magnolia Street.

The erosion under the guardrail and road threatens the structural integrity of the East Magnolia Street bridge over Sweetwater Creek. The damage was not discovered until nine months after the September 2022 storm. The city closed the eastbound lane and introduced a “stop for oncoming traffic” sign with a one-lane traffic flow last year.

To fix the one-lane traffic flow and integrity of the bridge, the five-step improvement project includes design and permitting, leaving the $1 million construction to still be done.

During its Dec. 15 meeting, Oviedo’s City Council awarded the project’s bid to B3 Construction Corporation for $968,000, the lowest qualified bid according to the city. Including a 20% contingency, the total budget for the project stands at $1.16 million. Seminole County’s Penny Sales Tax funds will be used to cover the total cost of the project, and FEMA may no longer reimburse the city, according to Mayor Megan Sladek.

The city added the Magnolia bridge to the Hurricane Ian projects list, and FEMA was expected to fund up to 87.5% of the project, according to the city’s website.

However, due to already-instituted and proposed FEMA cuts, there is uncertainty about if and when funds would be sent, councilmember Natalie Teuchert said.

Sladek said she found out FEMA may not reimburse the city on Monday by reading the project’s budgetary impact and noticing FEMA was no longer noted. Lisa McDonald, Oviedo’s communications manager, wrote that the project is currently under FEMA’s review, and more information may come after the holidays.

“If we can’t rely on FEMA, that’s a huge problem,” Teuchert said.

Oviedo uses the Penny Sales Tax funds to pay for road repayment, according to Sladek. Potentially not being reimbursed for the Magnolia Street project leaves less room in the budget for future projects.

Future construction

Paul Yeargain, Oviedo’s engineering manager, said he anticipates construction to begin next month and continue for about nine months.

“I would say it will likely last nine months, but again, that will depend on weather,” Yeargain said. “… right now we’re in the dry season. So if the contractor can mobilize quickly and get work done, then hopefully they can get most of it before the wet season starts.”

The construction phase of the project will remove the existing crossing, replace pipes and reconstruct the road over the top, and resurface the entrance road into Sweetwater Park, according to Yeargain. The project is located about 800 feet east of S.R. 434 along East Magnolia Street.

Patty Grant has lived in Winter Springs for 35 years. About two to three times a month, she drives down Magnolia Street to avoid the nearby roundabout on her way to the library. She contacted Oviedo Community News in February 2024 asking what was going on near the Sweetwater Park entrance since the lane was closed for many months and she had never seen any work being done to it.

“I wondered if it was going to be, you know, fixed anytime soon or so. I was really surprised to see that it was something from a hurricane from a couple years ago and it still hasn’t been fixed,” Grant said.

Grant said she sometimes wonders how safe it is to drive over the bridge and was surprised by the project’s cost, but is glad the repairs will happen. Her husband, Richard, agreed with the idea of the city paying for the repairs and hoping for a later reimbursement so the project could be completed.

“If you wait on FEMA, it may never get fixed,” Richard said. 

Oviedo financial management analyst Nadia Todor wrote that after the holidays FEMA’s Critical Infrastructure Team will be reviewing the city’s most recent geotechnical analysis report that determined that more work needed to be done on the Magnolia Street crossing than FEMA had determined was necessary. After that review, FEMA and the city will be in discussions about further funding.

“We are hopeful that FEMA reconsiders their position,” Todor wrote. 

In light of the FEMA reimbursement issues, Sladek said she initially considered voting no on awarding a bid to a contractor, but decided to vote in favor. Sladek said going forward with the staff recommendation to move forward “is the right thing to do because we have promised it.” 

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