Mitchell Hammock Road, long one of Oviedo's most notorious bottlenecks, is finally getting a major safety makeover. On Monday, July 20, the City Council signed off on a nearly $3.5 million construction bid to overhaul the stretch between just east of State Road 426 and South Lake Jessup Avenue. The package includes a raised median, a new multiuse sidewalk, and drainage and resurfacing work designed to cut down on crashes and tighten up how drivers enter and exit the corridor.
What the project includes
According to the city's project listing from the City of Oviedo, the north side of West Mitchell Hammock Road will be widened by roughly five feet. That extra width will make room for a 16-foot sodded raised median and an 8-foot asphalt sidewalk, along with new signage, median access management, and minor utility relocations.
The drainage work is just as detailed. Plans call for regrading an on-site dry retention pond, adding flume inlets, and extending a double 72-inch reinforced-concrete cross drain to the north. The contract documents also include milling and resurfacing both directions of the roadway, so the whole corridor gets a fresh driving surface once the dust settles.
Council sign-off and local reaction
The council voted Monday to accept the low bid for the corridor improvements, a move reported by WKMG ClickOrlando. Mayor Megan Sladek did not sugarcoat how critical the project is, calling the stretch a major chokepoint and saying, "it’s the busiest spot in Oviedo" and that the upgrades have been years in the making.
How the work will be paid for
Most of the tab is expected to be covered by the third-generation one-cent penny sales tax, with a state grant helping to offset costs, Oviedo Community News reported after the council accepted a $1.5 million grant in April. Local budget material shows that same penny sales tax has already bankrolled a string of recent capital projects around the city and is set to be the primary local funding source for the Mitchell Hammock work.
Officials say the final numbers will be firmed up once construction wraps, the project is officially closed out, and state reimbursement has been processed.
Safety context: Vision Zero and crash history
Mitchell Hammock Road did not land on the improvement list by accident. It was flagged as part of Oviedo’s high-injury network in the Vision Zero Central Florida Action Plan, a regional safety strategy led by MetroPlan Orlando and local partners. The plan specifically recommends medians, access management, and better pedestrian facilities as priority treatments for corridors like this one.
City officials say the Mitchell Hammock project follows those recommendations with the clear goal of reducing fatalities and serious injuries along the road.
Timeline and what drivers should expect
For now, the project is listed in the city's capital program as being in design and permitting, with construction to follow once contracts are finalized, according to the City of Oviedo. Drivers have already been getting a preview of the disruption this summer, with localized work in the corridor that has included pond repairs and short-term lane closures tied to outfall work, a procurement posting for Pond 141 indicates.
Officials say that once a construction start date is locked in, they will share staging details, detour routes, and schedule updates through city communication channels so motorists are not caught off guard.
Council members cast the vote as a classic safety-first tradeoff: some short-term inconvenience in exchange for a calmer, safer Mitchell Hammock Road for years to come. With the bid approved, the city can move ahead with contracting and push the project into its next phase of construction planning.
