The Alafaya Trail widening project is located in east Orange County situated south of State Road 50, east of State Road 417, north of State Road 528 (BeachLine Expressway) and west of the Econlockhatchee River. The project limits are from Mark Twain Boulevard to Avalon Park Boulevard, a distance of approximately 3.83 miles (Alafaya Trail - Location Map.pdf (212 KB)).
The existing roadway is rural in character and includes a single travel lane in each direction along with roadside drainage swales. The roadway widens at points along the route to accommodate turn lanes at cross streets and at commercial and institutional driveways.
Land uses served by this portion of Alafaya Trail include residential, commercial, institutional and rural/agricultural. This project is identified in Orange County's Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Policy Plan and is designated as a Partnership Project.
In 2005 the Orange County Board of County Commissioners approved the framework to begin the design of a four-lane widening of Alafaya Trail, including provisions for the construction that follows. The framework included a public/private partnership that provided for an accelerated project production mechanism funded primarily with impact fee credits.
Prior to the start of design, a feasibility study was completed in December of 2005 to analyze the economic and technical feasibility of the project. Based on information gathered through the study, it was recommended to widen Alafaya Trail to a four-lane divided roadway (two lanes of traffic in each direction), providing for 11-foot wide travel lanes, a 15.5-foot raised landscaped median, a 5-foot wide sidewalk on the west side of the roadway, a 10-foot wide multi-use path on the east side. Improvements will also provide a curb and gutter stormwater collection system on each side of the road and a closed, underground stormwater conveyance system requiring a number of new stormwater ponds (See typical section (720 KB)).
The design process included provisions for public involvement and public input, including this web site, project newsletters announcing meetings and project information, small group meetings with Home Owner Associations, businesses and other interested persons as well as three (3) community meetings. Traffic data was collected and analyzed to evaluate intersection operations at major crossroads to determine the appropriate turn lane configurations and signalization. Geotechnical soils and hydraulic data was also collected and analyzed to determine the appropriate size and location of the stormwater ponds necessary to treat the additional stormwater runoff produced by widening the road.
Construction plans were developed throughout the design process through a series of reviews meeting all County and adopted State standards.