LONGWOOD, Fla. — General Hutchinson Parkway is closed between Longwood and Winter Springs and has been for 18 months. A viewer that wrote in to us this week, James Ragsdale, says the road does not look close to being fixed.
What's the deal there? We traveled to Longwood to find out.
- General Hutchinson Parkway was only supposed to be closed for a year
- Road has been closed for 18 months
- Road may open sometime this fall
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Some said they had been affected by the long closure.
"I know there are folks over down 17/92 that are customers of mine that maybe haven't come in to the store somedays because they had to go around or something like that,” said Erik Comstock, Manager of World of Reef. "So that affects my business."
World of Reef is an aquarium store that specializes in live corals and marine animals.
The store is directly in front of the intersection of General Hutchinson Parkway and Ronald Reagan Boulevard.
Just east of that intersection is a portion of General Hutchinson Parkway that is closed all the way up to US-17/92.
If General Hutchinson Parkway sounds vaguely familiar to you, it may be because it's home to Big Tree Park, which was home to the Senator, the world's largest and oldest bald cypress tree until it infamously burned down back in 2012. Now the only way you can access this park is from Ronald Reagan Boulevard.
FDOT says the closure is necessary to accommodate another project—the widening of US-17/92 to a six-lane roadway from Shepard Road to Lake Mary Boulevard.
Comstock said that construction can get a little dicey.
"I'm a veteran so when things are going on like that... a lot of stuff, I pay attention more,” said Comstock. “It's a little stressful to me. I see a lot of people who are not paying attention or don't seem to care."
We contacted FDOT for an update and they admitted that the project is behind where it should be.
The work started in March of 2018 and was supposed to take nine months. They say the delay was due to planning revisions needed on a retaining wall in the area.
Now FDOT says the road will stay closed until sometime this upcoming fall. Comstock has a hard time understanding why...
"Now I-4...that's a lot of work,” said Comstock. “This to me shouldn't be taking this much time. It definitely seems to me that someone is dragging their feet."
Thanks for your question, James!
And if you have your own traffic question or problem that you want looked at or solved, head to mynews13.com/trafficinbox and just fill out the simple form.
