A protest held Saturday by Lake County residents drew renewed attention to the lack of the connection between Flemings Road and Sawgrass Bay Blvd, which prevents quick access between the counties. Demonstrators peacefully gathered near the barricaded segment to call on Orange County to reopen the road, voicing concerns over traffic congestion, school access, and emergency response delays caused by the dead-end. Many residents in the Sawgrass Bay and Serenoa communities, purchased their homes under the pretense that the road connection was imminent, but instead, it has has taken years.

Exacerbating the issue is the lack of any meaningful interconnectivity requirement in Lake County. Unlike Orange County—which mandates that new subdivisions connect to existing road stubs in adjacent developments—Lake County imposes no such obligation. Orange County’s Subdivision Regulations explicitly state that developments “shall connect to any existing stub-outs or roadway stubs on abutting properties,” promoting a continuous and integrated street network that supports traffic circulation, emergency access, and neighborhood cohesion. In contrast, Lake County’s planning framework offers only vague references to feeder and distributor roads, falling short of requiring actual connections between communities. This regulatory gap has contributed to fragmented development patterns that isolate communities and creates limited local connectivity.

In July 2024, before a road was in place, Lake County residents began traversing over dirt and grass to access Flemings Road, significantly shortening their travel times. However, Flemings Road in its current state is designated as an “alternative surface” roadway, making it substandard for both local and regional traffic. To protect the road and extend its usability for Orange County residents moving into the area, a barricade was placed along the road to block traffic entering from Lake County. 

In a statement provided to HorizonWestInfo.com in 2024, Orange County Public Works stated “Orange County carefully calculated the amount of traffic that Flemings Road can carry based on the structural capacity of its pavement. Additional traffic to and from Lake County is not permissible at this time and the barrier Orange County deployed is a safety improvement designed to stop that flow of traffic.”

Lake County is nearing completion of a $2.5 million roundabout to connect Sawgrass Bay Blvd to Flemings Road and the future Lake Star Road, but progress on Flemings Road improvements remains delayed. While Lake County has taken on the responsibility of funding and constructing roadways on their side, the road improvements are more complicated on the Orange County side.

In January 2020, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners approved the Village I Road Network Agreement, which outlines infrastructure responsibilities for segments of Avalon Road and Flemings Road. Home builders affiliated directly or through subsidiaries with the agreement include K. Hovnanian, M/I Homes, Toll Brothers, Rockwell Homes, Taylor Morrison, and Ashton Woods.

The development group is responsible for dedicating right-of-way and completing the design, engineering, permitting, mitigation, and construction of Flemings Road Segment 6 as a four-lane road extending west from Avalon Road to the Lake County line. Under the original timeline for the entire project, design and permitting for the segment was to be completed by March 31, 2021, construction was to begin by December 31, 2021, and substantial completion was required by December 31, 2022. Specific timelines for Flemings Road Segment 6, which would connect to Lake County, outlined a construction commencement date of July 1, 2025, with substantial completion/connection occurring no later than January 1, 2026.

In November 2022, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners approved the First Amendment to the Village I Road Network Agreement. This amendment did not alter any construction deadlines but introduced a new financial mechanism for developers. Under the original agreement, developers were required to post a letter of credit to receive transportation impact fee credit vouchers in advance of road credit awards. The amendment provides an alternative option, allowing developers to instead deposit an equivalent cash amount into an escrow account. Upon receipt, the escrow agent records the deposit in a dedicated ledger and notifies the County, which then authorizes the issuance of credit vouchers. This change was intended to improve flexibility for participating developers while maintaining the County’s financial oversight.

During an Orange County BCC Hearing in May 2024, Commissioners were briefed on east-west corridors and were informed Flemings Road Segment 6 construction was likely to start in the Fall 2024, with construction required to commence no later than July 1, 2025 and substantial completion/connection by January 1, 2026. If construction of Flemings Road Segment 6 has not commenced by July 1, 2025, developers are required to place sufficient construction funds into escrow by July 10, 2025. Developers are eligible to receive credits against future road impact fees for eligible expenditures beyond their Adequate Public Facilities (APF) obligations.

In February 2025, a new delay was uncovered by the HorizonWestInfo.com Team, which introduces a Second Amendment to the Village I Road Network Agreement. Through a public records request, the draft of the Second Amendment was obtained and reviewed. It formally sets a new construction start milestone for Flemings Road Segments 5 and 6, moving it earlier to March 31, 2025. This replaces a previously referenced start date of July 1, 2025, offering a clearer timeline for when work should begin. However, the original agreement’s enforcement clause remains unchanged. If construction has not started by July 1, 2025, developers are still required to place sufficient construction funds into escrow by July 10, 2025, or risk losing future development trip allocations. While the start date is now defined more precisely and slightly earlier than the ultimate July deadline, the Second Amendment also pushes back the substantial completion requirement from January 1, 2026, to September 30, 2026, formalizing a significantly extended timeline for finishing the road.

While opening the connection may help alleviate challenges for some, it may exacerbate traffic congestion for others. Commuters traveling Western Way in the evening frequently face 30 – 45 minutes of travel time from Buena Vista Drive to SR 429. Improvements to this road are far off, with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District exploring funding to expand Western Way to 6-lanes—three in each direction. Interchange improvements at Western Way and SR 429 by Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise are also not funded in their 5-year work plan, but are planned for with the expansion of SR 429 to 6-lanes. 

Additional east-west corridors are also in the works to connect Lake and Orange Counties. Construction is underway on SR 516, a new toll road that will connect SR 429 to SR 27. An additional $2.5 million in funding was also approved for the New Independence Parkway extension, which will connect into Wellness Way and provide more direct access to SR 429 and Hamlin, alleviating the Schofield Road intersection.

The Second Amendment is awaiting Final Review by the Roadway Agreement Committee, which will hear the issue on Wednesday, March 26.