The Florida Department of Transportation will hold two meetings this week pertaining to the existing interchange between Florida’s Turnpike (SR 91) and Kissimmee Park Road (KPR), located near St Cloud in Osceola County and its proposed changes.
The first of the two meetings will take place today, Monday April 18 at 5:30 pm remotely. Click here to register.
A recording of the virtual meeting will be posted to the project website by April 21, 2022 under the ‘Documents – Public Information Meeting’ section.
The 2nd meeting, an in-person meeting, will be held on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the City of St. Cloud Community Center, 3101 17th Street, FL 34769. Registration is not required to attend the in-person meeting. Please use FDOH’s comment form if you wish to provide a comment.
According to FDOT the proposed improvements will help alleviate current operational issues with the existing interchange until the construction of the new Nolte Road Interchange is in place. Once the new interchange at Nolte Rd is in operation FDOH says the existing interchange at Kissimmee Park Road will be removed.
The proposed changes include modifications to the existing southbound off-ramp to provide dual-left turns onto Kissimmee Park Road and closing the median opening for eastbound Kissimmee Park Road traffic to access the northbound Turnpike on-ramp. Access to northbound Turnpike will be provided by the creation of a dedicated U-turn, and corresponding traffic signal, on Old Canoe Creek Road at the St Cloud Fire Station.
According to FDOT’s website the project will:
- Provide dual left turns from the southbound Turnpike off-ramp to Kissimmee Park Road
- Close the median opening for eastbound Kissimmee Park Road to northbound turnpike on-ramp
- Provide a dedicated U-turn on old Canoe Creek Road at the St Cloud fire station location for Kissimmee Park Road traffic to access northbound Turnpike
Numerous residents who live near the Kissimmee Park Road Interchange Project, or utilize the Turnpike Interchange have expressed concerns over FDOH’s plans, citing them as dangerous due to local demographics, including the U-turn “solution” that FDOT is planning. They have reached out to elected officials, including Governor Ron DeSantis requesting that they look init the KPR Interchange Project.
A PD&E Study was performed to address the operational deficiencies with the existing Kissimmee Park Road interchange, as well as provide capacity for future demand associated with the planned developments in this part of Osceola County. The recommended solution is to construct a new interchange with an extension of Nolte Road and to close the existing Kissimmee Park Road interchange.
