Innovation Way / Alafaya Trail East Orlando Update (Version 2.4)
First, lets get some background on what Innovation Way is according to Orange County, FL:
Innovation Way I
Background & Purpose 
The purpose of this project is to enhance the public transportation network and provide safe and efficient flow of vehicular traffic within the East Orange County area.
This project will include the construction of a 4-lane urban roadway on new alignment from a location approximately 1,000 feet north of the Beachline Expressway ( SR 528 ) to the intersection of Alafaya Trail and Avalon Park Boulevard.
This new urban road will also feature sidewalks, on-road bike paths and a closed drainage system.Project Limits
This project extends from north of the Beachline Expressway ( SR 528 ) to Avalon Park Boulevard, a distance of approximately 4.81 miles.
Estimated Project Costs
Roadway: $22,805,325.75
Utilities: $7,293,627.50
Now that we have a bit of background… lets examine what this $30 million is going to do for us East Orlando Residents:
1. Enhance public transportation- What is this??? A bus that picks up no one and takes them to Waterford Lakes Town Center or a bus that picks up shoppers and takes them to a dead end?
2. Provide efficient flow of traffic- hmm… this is a dead end road that stops somewhere short of SR 528. Although this dead end road has bike lanes (I do love these!) and sidewalks, to my knowledge, drivers, bicyclists, and walkers are possibly going to get great views of power lines, a power plant, and perhaps even a jail.
Now you are probably saying- Dawn, that’s not fair of you. Of course, there is the interchange being built to connect Innovation Way/Alafaya Trail traffic onto SR 528- or at least a service road that will connect our new dead end to an existing interchange!
Or is there??? There is nothing of the sort within the Orange County Government site. So I decided to write to some officials.
1. District 4 Commissioner Linda Stewart- Remember the quote last year: “Orange County has spent $26 million to expand Alafaya Trail and we’re not going to have it go down the drain to a dead end.” “… soon after March or April of 2008, we will be able to drive down Alafaya to the Beachline.” Well I remember that ( not that I particularly care to drive down a dead end to nowhere road by April 2008 ) and wrote to her anyway. She quickly deferred me to the transportation dept. (to whom I had already written and told her of that fact in my letter). Thanks for that help!
2. Several members of the Public Transportation Department- I found two of these officials to be quite helpful with my enquiry: Mr. Brian Sanders and Mr. Jim Harrison.
And now, drum roll please… Version 2.4 Update is:
“The proposed completion date for the new interchange at Alafaya Trail/Innovation Way is May 2010. Of course, it is a complex project, and the schedule may change over time.
We are currently working with the property owner to have a connection to the existing interchange at Dallas open sooner, but we haven’t completed negotiations on that so we can’t provide any proposed completion date.”
And there you have it.
Links to previous versions of Innovation Way Updates:
Innovation Way - East Orlando’s Longest Dead End Road
East Orlando’s Innovation Way (Alafaya Trail) Update
Alafaya Trail Extension Innovation Way Update January 2008
Have You Read the East Orlando Sun Today?
Add comment July 20, 2008
