Florida Homes & Travel

It has been in the planning for 10 years, but finally the full impact of the extension of the Western Beltway 429 has become clear to owners at Indian Ridge, Windsor Palms, The Palms, Oak Island Cove and Emerald Island. The northern section of toll road currently begins on the Orange Blossom Trail US 441 north of Apopka. The road then descends to Seidel Road, which is just to the north west of Walt Disney World Property. The extension section has now been cleared from Seidel Road to the end at Interstate 4 near C.R. 545 – Old Lake Wilson Road. The toll road will pass Indian Ridge subdivision on its western side, relocating Sand Hill Road in the process.

At this stage the road will have 4 lanes and a large grassy median in the centre. There will be tollbooths at a junction with Sinclair road, below Indian Ridge with a 25 cent toll to reach I 4. The road continues up past The Palms, between Windsor Palms and Indian Creek, through the gap between Oak Island Cove and Emerald Island phase 2 townhomes, onwards to U.S. 192, and on near Orange Lake Country Club. It continues onwards to the left of Walt Disney World Property to join the northern section at Seidel Road. Because much of the land in this section is wetlands much of the road will be elevated by 25 ft. Owners along the edge of the Beltway at Oak Island Cove and phase 2 townhomes at Emerald Island will be in the shadow of an elevated section just 35 feet from property lines. The road will dip as it passes right through Indian Creek after the developer there negotiated special permission to lower the road and landscape to prevent noise, but will rise again as it passes Windsor Palms.

The road developers estimate that approximately 400 properties will be in full view of elevated highway along the whole section. However, legally, the issue of noise cannot be addressed until it arises! There will be no landscaping, walls or earth banks installed with the road, which is forecast to carry 30,000 cars per day within 2 years of opening. Work is permitted from 6.30 am, although fuel supply trucks have no restrictions and can deliver at any time of day or night. The work is already impacting many residents with noise and dust. It is expected that house prices for effected properties in Oak Island Cove and Indian Creek will be ‘soft’, but in other subdivisions, the sudden appearance of many ‘For Sale’ signs is more indicative of the inventory of resales returning to normal levels after a very tight summer.

Developers had been informed of the proposed Western Beltway as far back as 1994, but it was left to them to inform their buyers of the plans. It would appear that most of the time they did, but some current owners have purchased resales privately and not been informed of the plans. Many time purchasers fall into the trap of going to the seller’s agent to purchase a house, rather than finding their own buyers agent. Of course a selling agent is not going to be upfront and forthcoming about detrimental aspects to the property. The plans can be viewed at www.floridasturnpike.com, then click ‘system roads’. Sections 1 and 2 are the most relevant –but very slow to load.

Posted on 1 March 2005