LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Hundreds of people were at a community festival Saturday celebrating the completion of the long-awaited Wekiva Parkway and Central Florida’s beltway.
After many years of construction, the final stretch opened last month.
Ed and Barbara Watson came out to the festival in Lake County to celebrate the completion of the Wekiva Parkway. It connects State Road 429, State Road 417 and Interstate 4, a $1.6 billion project that completes the Central Florida beltway for express travel around Orlando.
News 6 was there when the final stretch officially opened on Jan. 26.
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“It saves us so much time and it’s safer,” said Barbara Watson. “It’s a big addition to our neighborhood.”
“For us, this parkway is a win-win-win situation,” said Robert Brooks, Wekiva River Basin State Parks manager
State and government leaders at Saturday’s celebration called the completion a win that also sets aside land for conservation.
“We had to have a beltway, but we had to protect the most vital and important natural resource for water supply and for our animals traversing up and down the Ocala-Wekiva area,” said Lee Constantine, Seminole County commissioner and former state senator.
People also watched on as leaders planted a tree for the parkway’s completion.
“When we broke ground, we planted a tree, and now as we are bringing the project to a close, we are planting a tree so it really makes it come full circle,” said Matthew Richardson, Florida Department of Transportation District 5.
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