OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — An Osceola County woman is concerned about a road extension project that would go right through her home.

Renee Ruiz, who won the Mrs. America pageant in 1998, now lives in the Happy Trails rural enclave in Osceola County.

“It’s great to be able to escape and when you come to a place like this, the stress level goes down,” she said.

But that quiet way of life will change if Osceola County moves forward with a plan to extend Sinclair Road.

The county is looking to extend Sinclair Road from Tradition Boulevard to Bella Citta Boulevard.

The goal is to better connect State Road 429 to US-27, and relieve some of that I-4 congestion in the ChampionsGate area.

Both of the proposed routes would affect Ruiz’s property.

The first alignment would run the road next to her home, affecting 10 residential parcels, including hers.

The second option would run right through her home, affecting 17 residential parcels and requiring three homes in the Happy Trails community to be moved.

“If they go the other path, they will take everything that’s through here: my home, my land, everything that we came here for,” Ruiz said.

She wants to know why the county doesn’t consider the original option, which would have gone through the massive Reunion Resort & master planned community.

“I guess they figured a couple of homes that are rural aren’t important,” she said.

A spokesperson for Osceola County said the Reunion alignment was first developed in 2005, and no longer meets safety standards.

“Starting from the north, the sharp curves create safety problems, and are not designed to current standards. The curve near the gas pipeline crossing also fails to meet current design standards, creating a safety issue,” said Osceola County Communications Manager Krystal Diaz.

Ruiz moved into the home with her husband a year and a half ago in the hopes this would where they would spend their retirement.

“We’re in limbo, for a year now, we have not been able to make any changes,” she said.

Ruiz has held off on renovations on her home as she waits for the county to decide which route to take.

“It really has broken our hearts. It’s almost better to not have a dream than to start it and have it risked and taken away,” she said.

Ultimately, it’s up to Osceola County Commissioners to decide which route, if any at all, should move forward.

There’s no timeline for construction.

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