OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — A project that would reduce traffic delays in Osceola County is facing criticism from neighbors who are concerned it will only make traffic worse for them.

Linda Thies and her husband moved to the Oaks subdivision in the Kissimmee area back in December.

“We fell in love with it; it’s kind of like its own paradise,” Thies said.

But she’s afraid some of her paradise might be paved if the Florida Department of Transportation moves forward with a project to reduce delays on U.S. Highway 17/92 and Pleasant Hill Road.

'We fell in love with it; it’s kind of like its own paradise,' Oaks resident Linda Thies says. (Spectrum News/Jerry Hume)

“Not enough road for all the vehicles now and they had to come up with a plan to ease this traffic and the bottlenecking and so forth, and the best they could come up with was, ‘We’ll just go through the Oaks’,” Thies said.

FDOT is planning to build a new road through the Oaks to bypass the Pleasant Hill and U.S.-17/92 intersection.

(Courtesy of FDOT)

State planners said they believe the new road could save drivers nearly three minutes during the morning commute.

“You’re going to destroy our property, disrupt our lives to save three minutes on a project that’s going to cost $37.2 million,” Thies said.

(Courtesy of FDOT)

Along with the new road, neighbors are concerned about the development that will come along with it. Hundreds of houses and apartment units are proposed to be built along the new road.

“They are putting them in our backyards,” warned Oaks resident Jeanette Rice.

Nothing is set in stone, and FDOT will review feedback from the public, spokesperson Allison Colburn said. The project could actually help residents of the Oaks, she said.

“(The new road is) projected to result in improved and safer access to and from Pleasant Hill Road and U.S. 17-92 from the Oaks neighborhood,” Colburn said. “This is due to traffic entering and exiting the neighborhood being managed by signalized intersections.”

Thies is not buying it. She’s a part of a group called NIMBY, which stands for “not in my backyard.”

“As soon as I heard what was going to happen, my husband and I were like, ‘This is not happening without us standing up’,” Thies said.

FDOT officials said they worked with Osceola County, the city of Kissimmee and MetroPlan Orlando on the proposed project.

An estimated 80% of the turning traffic would use the new road, if built.

Construction is anticipated to start in the fall of 2025.

Ultimately, FDOT officials say they’d like to add a flyover at the intersection to also help reduce congestion.