Crews are clearing ground and putting up detour signs around downtown Groveland as Florida's long-promised reroute of State Road 50 starts to take physical shape. The project is designed to pull truck traffic off downtown streets, ease congestion and reshape how drivers move through the growing Lake County city.
According to a handout from the Florida Department of Transportation, the agency is building a new four-lane roadway that will realign State Road 50 from Villa City Road to Second Avenue, shifting the route north of downtown Groveland. The realignment stretches 2.1 miles and is meant to pull heavy trucks away from downtown, a shift the FDOT handout says will enhance the area's livability and walkability. As South Lake Tablet reported, the project is already underway around downtown, with construction crews clearing the proposed route and installing detour signs that will guide motorists as work progresses.
Cost estimates for the project vary depending on the source. The FDOT handout lists a project cost of $26.8 million tied to contractor CWR Contracting, Inc., while a 2023 report from mynews13.com put the estimate at $49 million, including roughly $33.8 million in construction costs. The FDOT handout separately lists a project start of September 2026, with completion estimated for summer 2028.
A New Intersection and a Reshaped Downtown
Once complete, the realigned roadway will connect to State Road 19 (Howey Road) at a brand-new intersection just south of Phelps Street, per the FDOT handout. The project also calls for 66 new Park & Ride spaces near Rice Court and Crittenden Street, plus an extension of the South Lake Trail westward from Second Avenue along the new roadway to Villa City Road.
The realignment carries consequences for downtown's street grid, too. After construction wraps, W. Broad Street and W. Orange Street will be handed over to the City of Groveland as city streets, according to the same FDOT handout. South Lake Tablet reports that officials see that transfer as an opportunity to reimagine and revitalize the downtown core once through-traffic is routed elsewhere.
Crittenden Street Closure Looms
One of the more immediate concerns for commuters involves Crittenden Street, which South Lake Tablet describes as a popular cut-through for drivers, especially during morning and afternoon rush hours. The City of Groveland is working with FDOT on the closure, and per city officials cited by South Lake Tablet, the street will not close before February 2027. The city has said it will give advance notice before Crittenden Street shuts down, and planned detours tied to the broader project will be communicated to the public in a timely manner, the outlet reported.
During construction, drivers should also expect nighttime single-lane closures along the project roadways, according to the FDOT handout. The handout notes that new curbs and curb ramps built as part of the project will meet current Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
Why Groveland Is Racing to Fix This Intersection
The push to redesign State Road 50 isn't happening in a vacuum. Groveland's population jumped 147% between 2010 and 2022, according to bizjournals.com, a surge that has strained the city's existing roads. Local leaders view the realignment as a catalyst for commercial growth, the outlet reports, betting that smoother traffic flow will draw new development downtown.
The realignment has reportedly been a top priority for Lake County transportation leaders for decades, according to a 2023 report from mynews13.com, which also noted the project is expected to help alleviate truck traffic through downtown Groveland. A more recent mynews13.com report found FDOT expects the realignment to improve traffic flow at the State Road 50 and State Road 19 intersection and reduce the number of drivers turning onto State Road 19 from Bible Camp Road — a chokepoint that has become more pronounced as the city has grown.
