ST. CLOUD, Fla. — In this week's Traffic Inbox, we are talking about Deer Park Road in the St. Cloud area, where viewer Mandy McConnell is wondering when, if it all, Osceola County plans to reopen it.

  • Deer Park Road has been closed due to Hurricane Irma
  • Osceola officials say work will begin on the road May 27
  • Get more Traffic Inbox

When we arrived at the Wolf Creek Bridge, the northernmost side of the long-term closure of Deer Park Road, we were surprised to see people still fishing off of it, defying the "no fishing" signs posted on the perimeter.

Large alligators and fish still thrive underneath the bridge as well. Yet no vehicles have been able to drive over it for more than two years.

That portion of Deer Park Road has been closed at both the Wolf Creek and Pennywash bridges in the St. Cloud area of Osceola County.

The reason is that those bridges still have damage from Hurricane Irma. The water rose too high and for too long, damaging the concrete foundations, making it unsafe to travel on.

Deer Park Road normally is not a very heavily traveled road, but it can act as an important cut-through road that connects U.S. 192 with County Road 532.

Nowadays, drivers have to travel several miles out of their way from one road to the other.

I also reached out to Deseret Ranch as Deer Park Road cuts through the heart of its property.

Here is the response we got:

"Highway 419 is vital to Deseret Ranches as well as many others in the region who rely on the road. Its closure for bridgework has placed a significant burden on the ranch and the families who live here. We are thankful that Osceola County continues to cooperate with us to lessen the impact to the ranch and that they continue to work toward repairing the bridges as quickly as possible."

We recently checked in with Osceola County officials, and they told us that coming up May 27, there will be a "Notice to Proceed" for the bridges project. Then, there will be a 120-day period from that point for "significant completion."

That timeline seems to mean that we could be looking at fall before we see cars traveling again on Deer Park Road.

If you at home have a traffic issue or problem you want looked into or solved, head to mynews13.com/trafficinbox and fill out the simple form.