Road improvements to ease travel to and from Poinciana
February 25, 2009
POINCIANA, FL --- Work on road improvements designed to help ease travel to and from the 47,000-acre master-planned community of Poinciana is expected to get into high gear starting March 6, 2009.
That's when Osceola County Public Works Administration (OCPWA) is expected to oversee ground breaking for the second of five planned phases of four-laning Poinciana Boulevard, covering a 12.4-mile stretch from just south of U.S. Highway 192 to Pleasant Hill Road. The first phase, a 2.06-mile stretch from just south of U.S. Highway 192 to Oren Brown Road, was completed in February 2008.
"This is another significant step toward improving travel to and from Poinciana for our many residents who work outside the community," said Tony Iorio, vice president of land development for Avatar® Properties Inc., developer of Poinciana and the community's primary homebuilder.
"The long hours and hard work that have gone into current and future road improvements by the team of agencies, companies and individuals involved bodes well for the future of Poinciana and our residents," said Iorio.
Work on Phase II, a 2.6-mile stretch of Poinciana Boulevard from just south of U.S. Highway 17-92 to Avatar's® Crescent Lakes community, will be handled by general contractor Craft Construction and is expected to take 17 months to complete. The tail end of work on Phase II also is expected to include the start of construction on a new bridge over Shingle Creek, according to the OCPWA.
Later this summer work also is expected to commence on improving the intersection of Poinciana Boulevard and Old Tampa Highway which runs alongside the CSX railroad tracks. That work, which will include installing left turn lanes and improving the railroad crossing, is expected to take approximately 2-3 weeks to complete, according to OCPWA officials.
Phase III, the four-laning of a 2.7-mile stretch of Poinciana Boulevard from Oren Brown Road to just north of the CSX railroad tracks, is expected to start in August 2010, followed by Phases IV and V which cover a 5-mile stretch from Crescent Lakes to Pleasant Hill Road.
In addition, future travel to and from Poinciana for its estimated 70,000 residents will vastly improve with direct access to Florida's Turnpike. OCPWA officials said preliminary studies are currently underway on the Southport Connector Road which would provide a direct link to the Turnpike if approved.
Also affecting future travel for Poinciana residents will be two other road improvement projects. A preliminary study is currently being conducted for the construction of a 17-92 flyover at Pleasant Hill Road, and work is slated to begin early next year (2010) on the improved alignment of Hoagland Boulevard from the intersection of U.S. 17-92 and Pleasant Hill Road to U.S. 192 (Irlo Bronson Highway), according to the OCPWA. The latter will be a joint venture between Osceola County, the City of Kissimmee and the Florida Department of Transportation. Construction is expected to take 18 months to complete.
For more information call Osceola County Information Office, 407-742-0101 or Robin Hall, Senior Project Coordinator, 407-343-2630.
