KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Osceola County leaders are promising to move forward with a huge road extension project, even though Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed state funding for the project.

What You Need To Know

  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $6 million in state funding for the Cross Prairie Parkway extension project in Osceola County

  • Despite that, members of the Osceola County Commission have pledged to move forward and have approved $5 million for right-of-way acquisition in 2025

  • Residents say they need the extension to provide a second way in and out of community

  • County leaders say they plan to spend $50.4 million for construction on the project in 2026

In September, county commissioners pledged millions of dollars to extend Cross Prairie Parkway.

“We need it. We need a second way out,” said Nelly Hernandez, the chairperson of the Osceola Action Committee.

Hernandez and others live east of Lake Toho and west of Florida’s Turnpike, where they only have one way in and one way out. They say traffic congestion where Florida’s Turnpike meets Clay Whaley Road makes it difficult to get around, especially during the morning and evening commutes.

“We are in a position that we have to find ways to defend ourselves to get home, to get to work, to get to whatever our destination is,” said Hernandez.

Osceola County leaders say they are working to provide a second way out of the community by extending Cross Prairie Parkway.

The project, split into two sections, extends the road from just west of the C-31 canal down to Nolte Road near the turnpike. The second portion extends the road from Nolte Road down to Clay Whaley Road near Kissimmee Park Road, where Hernandez said she and her neighbors need help.

“(The extension) does alleviate a way in and a way out in a sense if an emergency happens,” she said. “We’d have other ways to think of how to get out of here.”

But getting the project started hasn’t been easy.

This past summer, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $6 million in state funding for the project.

Despite the setback, county commissioners voted last month to approved a capital improvement plan, allocating $5 million for right-of-way acquisition in fiscal year 2025, and a total of $50.4 million for construction to begin in fiscal year 2026.

That money would be used to connect the road from the C-31 canal on Nolte Road.

County leaders said the connection to Clay Whaley Road would be up to developers to build.

Hernandez said she and her neighbors don’t oppose the new development, they just want it to make sense.

“We love growth, we love the fact that people are coming in and joining us into our community, but we would like to do it safely and efficiently, and smart and all the things that matter for the living of everyone around here,” she said.

Commissioners said that while DeSantis vetoed state funding for the project, they will ask again in future legislative sessions for help with building the extension.