The Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) governing board has voted to authorize CFX to enter into an interagency agreement with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and Osceola County to support the planned State Road 534 expressway (also known as the Osceola Parkway Extension). The 9-mile expressway has long been planned to meet the transportation needs of southeast Orange and northeast Osceola counties, among the fastest growing areas in the country.
The Osceola Parkway Extension (OPE) has been part of various regional planning efforts since before it was formally added to Osceola County’s Comprehensive Plan in 2005. Since then, the project has undergone several studies, including the original Project Development & Environment (PD&E) Study completed by the former Osceola County Expressway Authority in 2017. In 2019, CFX completed a PD&E Re-evaluation Study which recommended a preferred alignment that directly impacted 60 acres of the southwest corner of Split Oak Forest. This alignment was approved in December 2019.
The key elements of the interagency agreement will include:
• CFX providing funding of $23.9 million to FWC for the restoration and long-term management of the 1,550 acres of donated land from Suburban Land Reserve and Tavistock as set forth by the CFX Board Resolution adopted in May 2022.
• CFX providing funding of $1.25 million to FWC for improvements to Split Oak Forest in both Orange and Osceola Counties.
• CFX supporting FWC to identify and accept lands in lieu of the purchase of mitigation bank credits for any CFX project in the amount of $18 million.