LAKE COUNTY, Fla – Residents near Hartwood Marsh Road are eagerly waiting for the county to kick off its road widening initiative from Highway 27 to Regency Hills Drive.

Some residents said the traffic on that road causes safety issues, and they avoid using it altogether if they can.

Beth Dobbs, who lives in Kings Ridge off of Hartwood Marsh Road, said most of the time traffic is bumper to bumper.

“They need to do something. I don’t know how to impact everybody, but the widening should be done,” Dobbs said.

Dobbs said the traffic has a big impact on her day-to-day errands.

“I try to avoid it at all possibilities,” Dobbs said. “Even when I’m coming in, I try not to come down to 27 to this corner and turn on Hartwood Marsh going east because you can hardly even get on Hartwood Marsh at certain times of the day.”

A county representative stated that the Hartwood Marsh widening project from Highway 27 to Regency Hills Drive was initially drafted in the 2000s but faced delays due to the economic downturn.

In 2025, the county completed a redesign but cannot begin construction until grant funding becomes available in fiscal year 2027.

At the county’s recent commission meeting, Commissioner Sean Parks proposed taking out a loan to be repaid through a mix of impact fees and future grant funding, with the aim of commencing the project by summer 2026.

“Let’s build the road, if we need to do a short-term loan that would be paid out within two to three years, or in two to three years when we get the money from DOT, I think we could do that,” Parks remarked during the commission meeting.

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Parks was going to bring up the project at the county commission’s Sept. 23 meeting, but it was tabled.

Vincent Niemiec, a resident off of Hartwood Marsh, also attended the recent county commission meeting and has been advocating for commissioners to commence the project.

“We’re held hostage. If there’s traffic, there’s no way to get out of your community,” Niemiec said.

He added, “It’s very important to you know enjoy my retirement and not to just be a prisoner in my own community.”

Niemiec is also concerned about safety along Hartwood Marsh.

“It’s a safety concern to our police department. On the response time. It’s a safety concern on, EMS ambulances and a fire department for response time. One minute could mean a matter of life and death. And that’s why to me, it’s very important about getting this expanded,” he said.

The county commission is set to discuss the Hartwood Marsh project at its next meeting on Oct. 14.