Muncle
04-02-2008, 05:52 AM
C.R. 466, 466A due to double loads
$50M work to start this year to handle fast-growing traffic
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/community/news/villages/orl-lcr4660108apr01,0,5159084.story
Robert Sargent
Sentinel Staff Writer
April 1, 2008
LADY LAKE
What started as sleepy little back roads between Lake and Sumter counties could become major connectors bustling with development -- part of more than $50 million worth of expansions to county roads 466 and 466A.
Traffic on C.R. 466 west of Rolling Acres Road has more than doubled to 18,000 daily vehicle trips in the past five years as The Villages retirement community quickly expanded just over the border in Sumter County to a total of 70,000 residents.
South of there, C.R. 466A is beginning to feel growth demands, increasing 30 percent during that same time to more than 4,000 trips a day.
Both east-west roads are proposed for expansion from two to four lanes to accommodate future vehicle trips. But county officials say C.R. 466 will have to come first -- construction could start by the end of the year.
That $20 million project will widen the road to four lanes from the Lake-Sumter line east to U.S. Highway 27-441. At the same time, Lady Lake will install water, sewer and irrigation-reuse pipelines to serve the area's development.
The town has invested $12 million for utility improvements, including a new sewage-treatment plant and 21,000 linear feet of utility lines to accommodate commercial and residential development. Stores, restaurants and large shopping centers have since popped up along the region's busiest road, U.S. 27-441, but officials think C.R. 466 could be next.
"That will be the town's next significant commercial corridor," Town Manager Bill Vance said.
Vance sees possibilities for a mixture of office and commercial development. South of C.R. 466 is an area targeted for residential development. Lady Lake also plans to provide utilities into Sumter.
Brandeburg Development Group Inc. is looking to put a 300-room hotel, office and retail on 41 acres west of the Lake-Sumter border.
The company is paying Lady Lake more than $500,000 in impact fees for the utility service. Brandeburg also will pay more than $1 million for the extension of utility pipelines west of Rolling Acres Road to the project site.
Company president John Brandeburg said that despite past commercial development, residents still need more.
"The people who live and who work in this area still have their needs underserved, even with the growth," Brandeburg said. "We appreciate the support the town of Lady Lake has given this project all along."
Lake officials are working with Lady Lake to make sure utilities are not installed after the new road work has paved over most of the area.
"It's very important to coordinate with all the utilities and to ensure they are put in prior to and during the four-laning -- it would be very difficult to come back and do it later," said Fred Schneider, Lake's engineering director.
To pay for the road construction, Lake is putting up $8 million. The state is chipping in $5 million. The developer of The Villages may pay another $7 million.
Schneider said construction on C.R. 466 east of the Sumter line could begin late this year. The rest of the road east of Rolling Acres to U.S. 27-441 could begin in 2009.
The timing of the C.R. 466A widening is uncertain. That project could cost $31.5 million.
Robert Sargent can be reached at rsargent@orlandosentinel.com or 352-742-5909.
Copyright � 2008, Orlando Sentinel
$50M work to start this year to handle fast-growing traffic
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/community/news/villages/orl-lcr4660108apr01,0,5159084.story
Robert Sargent
Sentinel Staff Writer
April 1, 2008
LADY LAKE
What started as sleepy little back roads between Lake and Sumter counties could become major connectors bustling with development -- part of more than $50 million worth of expansions to county roads 466 and 466A.
Traffic on C.R. 466 west of Rolling Acres Road has more than doubled to 18,000 daily vehicle trips in the past five years as The Villages retirement community quickly expanded just over the border in Sumter County to a total of 70,000 residents.
South of there, C.R. 466A is beginning to feel growth demands, increasing 30 percent during that same time to more than 4,000 trips a day.
Both east-west roads are proposed for expansion from two to four lanes to accommodate future vehicle trips. But county officials say C.R. 466 will have to come first -- construction could start by the end of the year.
That $20 million project will widen the road to four lanes from the Lake-Sumter line east to U.S. Highway 27-441. At the same time, Lady Lake will install water, sewer and irrigation-reuse pipelines to serve the area's development.
The town has invested $12 million for utility improvements, including a new sewage-treatment plant and 21,000 linear feet of utility lines to accommodate commercial and residential development. Stores, restaurants and large shopping centers have since popped up along the region's busiest road, U.S. 27-441, but officials think C.R. 466 could be next.
"That will be the town's next significant commercial corridor," Town Manager Bill Vance said.
Vance sees possibilities for a mixture of office and commercial development. South of C.R. 466 is an area targeted for residential development. Lady Lake also plans to provide utilities into Sumter.
Brandeburg Development Group Inc. is looking to put a 300-room hotel, office and retail on 41 acres west of the Lake-Sumter border.
The company is paying Lady Lake more than $500,000 in impact fees for the utility service. Brandeburg also will pay more than $1 million for the extension of utility pipelines west of Rolling Acres Road to the project site.
Company president John Brandeburg said that despite past commercial development, residents still need more.
"The people who live and who work in this area still have their needs underserved, even with the growth," Brandeburg said. "We appreciate the support the town of Lady Lake has given this project all along."
Lake officials are working with Lady Lake to make sure utilities are not installed after the new road work has paved over most of the area.
"It's very important to coordinate with all the utilities and to ensure they are put in prior to and during the four-laning -- it would be very difficult to come back and do it later," said Fred Schneider, Lake's engineering director.
To pay for the road construction, Lake is putting up $8 million. The state is chipping in $5 million. The developer of The Villages may pay another $7 million.
Schneider said construction on C.R. 466 east of the Sumter line could begin late this year. The rest of the road east of Rolling Acres to U.S. 27-441 could begin in 2009.
The timing of the C.R. 466A widening is uncertain. That project could cost $31.5 million.
Robert Sargent can be reached at rsargent@orlandosentinel.com or 352-742-5909.
Copyright � 2008, Orlando Sentinel