ORLANDO, Fla. — A long-planned project to improve safety on Forest City Road is hitting another roadblock.

The Florida Department of Transportation is re-evaluating just how necessary it is to widen the Orlando road, given the number of crashes on the stretch of highway in question.

What You Need To Know

  • The Florida Department of Transportation is deferring construction on Forest City Road until at least fiscal year 2026

  • FDOT had been planning to widen Forest City Road to from four lanes to six from Edgewater Drive to Maitland Boulevard

  • FDOT officials say they are now re-evaluating how to make the road safer

Improving safety on this stretch of Forest City Road has been something FDOT has studied for nearly three decades.

For much of that time, FDOT has looked at widening Forest City Road from four to six lanes from Edgewater Drive to Maitland Boulevard to handle congestion.

One driver, real estate photographer Kismet Davis, who uses Forest City Road every day, said the extra lanes would go a long way toward making his drive safer.

“It gets backed up in the mornings, it gets backed up in the afternoons,” he said. “And I’ve seen so much driver aggression as a result of people being frustrated, and it can get dangerous because people just get so backed up, they’re driving on the shoulders, I try to avoid this if at all possible.”

“For daily commuters, it will be nice to have that extra lane on each side,” he added.

But the project has been delayed, again and again, as the agency re-evaluates how to make the stretch of highway safer.

“The Florida Department of Transportation is examining whether capacity improvements are needed at this time, such as widening the roadway to six lanes,” said FDOT communications manager Matthew Richardson. “This consideration may change the overall scope of the work based on future coordination with local governments and stakeholders. A preferred alternative scope of work has not yet been identified.”

According to accident data, there were 22 deaths or serious injuries on Forest City Road from 2018 to 2022.

Richardson said as part of an effort decrease crashes on Forest City Road, FDOT officials need more time to determine whether adding extra lanes will help reduce crashes and slow down speeders.

“The project has been pushed back to make sure we have ample time to evaluate all potential speed management and safety strategies so that we can deliver a project that achieves the safety and operation goals and fits the community’s needs,” he said.

Construction has been deferred, and now won’t begin until at least fiscal year 2026, Richardson said.

Davis said he would rather FDOT take more immediate action, because the situation on Forest City Road is only getting worse.

“It’s only going to get more congested and busy, especially during those peak driving times,” he said. “So I would say this would be nice if it could be an expedited project that happens sooner rather than later.”

Based on the last estimate, construction on the project would cost more than $22 million — but FDOT officials said that could change based on future plans.

FDOT officials said they will inform the public when a decision is made.