Hamlin Groves Trail extension completion on the horizon

A long-awaited road project in Horizon West is moving closer to completion.

Hamlin Groves Trail Phase II, currently under construction by Boyd Development and inspected by Orange County per a developer agreement, should be completed this summer.

The project involves constructing a four-lane urban roadway with a median from the end of Phase I — where the Walmart is — to Tiny Road.

The project covers 1.5 miles, including the work on Tiny Road, where there will also be a new traffic signal.

The contractor’s current target date for completion is the end of June, according to Despina McLaughlin, public information officer for Orange County Government. She added completion will likely be pushed back to July, though, because of the rainy season looming.

Dennis Seliga, development manager for Boyd Development Corporation, said the project should offer some road relief for nearby residents heading toward Hamlin.

“Traffic going to and from Tiny Road will not have to go through the New Independence neighborhood any longer,” Seliga said. “They can take this new extension, which will provide faster access to Hamlin, the 429 and County Road 545. We believe the extension of Hamlin Groves Trail will also help alleviate some of the traffic around Bridgewater Middle School during the arrival and dismissal of the students.”

That traffic can be traced back to the rapid growth in West Orange County. 

“As Horizon West grows, so do the needs for infrastructure,” Orange County District 1 Commissioner Betsy VanderLey said. “Hamlin Groves Trail is one of many projects aimed at improving the road network in Horizon West. With its opening it is intended to relieve the overburdened Tiny Road and offer the nearby residents another option to get where they need to go.”

Seliga said the project is near completion. The Orange County Government ProjectTrak map lists the overall extension project as 96% finished.

“The contractor is completing the remaining underground utility work within Tiny Road,” Seliga said. “They are also completing the construction of the transition along Tiny Road at the Orchard Hills subdivision, as well as the remaining roadway work along an approximate 0.3 mile section of Tiny Road. They will lay down the friction course over the entire new area of the roadway that they construct and will activate the new traffic signal.”