Widening the Boulevard

A two-year study by the Florida Department of Transportation into the feasibility of expanding Maitland Boulevard from four lanes to six is less than a month from completion.

Following a final public hearing last week at Ohev Shalom in Maitland, and years of traffic studying and planning, the 50,000-plus daily drivers of Maitland Boulevard between Hope Road and Maitland Avenue may finally have a proposed solution for traffic relief.

FDOT Public Information Director Steve Olson said the study, which started 2011, is scheduled to finish up in June with recommendations to proceed to the project design process. The entire project is estimated to cost the state $7.9 million, with $1.2 million of that allocated to its design.

The widening is one of three proposed construction plans set to toy with traffic in the area. An overhaul of the neighboring Interstate 4 interchange and changing traffic patterns on Sandspur Road set to possibly take place around the same time as the widening in late-2015, Olson said, had some residents raising concerns at the April 30 hearing over construction overload.

“[FDOT’s] concern is this 1.2 mile stretch from Hope Road to Maitland Avenue, but if you look at it in the scheme of things, there’s really three different things happening on that road,” Olson said.

But the widening of the traffic-riddled road, he said, has remained a top priority and one having received the majority of the public’s support. Two noise walls and utilization of off-system bike paths are both factors added to the proposed design to help aid in noise and safety concerns.

FDOT is continuing to take in public comment about the proposed plans as part of the April 30 public hearing online and by mail through May 10.