City leaders said one small thing is standing in the way of its plans for economic development: Its main road and the thousands of trucks that travel it.

"They are very loud; they shake our windows," said Dianna LaMolli, co-owner of Timeless Boutique, along State Road 50 in Groveland. "We can't have our doors open in the cool weather, and a lot of people just don't want to stop, because the trucks are behind them. So, they drive on by."

The noise is also nearly deafening as residents like Eli Concepcion try to walk their dogs in downtown Groveland.

"It's just nonstop truck traffic all day, every day," Concepcion said. "It's quite ridiculous."

According to traffic data from the Florida Department of Transportation, about 24,000 vehicles pass by City Hall every day on the eastbound side of S.R. 50 alone, and more than 3,000 of the vehicles are semitrailers.

A plan unveiled Tuesday would reroute all that traffic for 1.6 miles around downtown Groveland, from Brown Street to Villa City Road to the north, on a new section of State Road 50.

LaMolli was willing to take a shot opening a business along S.R. 50 because of what she hopes Groveland could become if the city is successful in its plan to reroute truck traffic out of downtown.

She just hopes city leaders are committed to making sure downtown doesn't become a ghost town.

"The main concern is, if everything is rerouted, we don't want the cars to bypass us," LaMolli said.

Groveland Mayor Tim Loucks said if the project is funded this summer, the city can move forward with plans for a new City Hall and police department, along with other economic redevelopment projects.

After two years of studies and design, FDOT now just needs what could be close to $20 million to acquire the right of way, and another $11 million to $14 million to build the road. But the department remains committed to securing the funding.

"It's the No. 1 priority here in Lake County for the Metro Planning Organization, so we are moving this thing forward," said FDOT spokesman Steve Olson.

The State Road 50 project also calls for the coast-to-coast connector bike trail to be built alongside the road.