Wekiva Parkway Section 6 is one of the final links in the SR 429 western beltway around Orlando. The Parkway connects I-4 west of the Disney World Resort, near the City of Kissimmee, to I-4 in Sanford, Florida. WGI’s Section 6 segment in Lake and  Seminole Counties is 6 miles long and crosses the pristine waterways of the Wekiva River. WGI was the engineer of record for this project, delivering a 3D model of all design features, including roadway, drainage, and trail alignments. One of the key   design commitments included in this design-build project was the 12-foot shared-use path designed within FDOT right-of-way, running parallel to Service Road 2. This path required an independent horizontal and vertical alignment to harmonize pedestrian and bicycle users’ needs, environmental preservation sites, roadway requirements, pond requirements, and local agency connections. The shared-use path was aligned at grade and elevated and tapered into bridge decks crossing rivers, where elevated wildlife crossings were required on the project. Along this route, the cross slope of the trail transitioned several times to facilitate drainage schemes and front slope fill conditions. Pedestrian hazards or steep slope drop-off hazards were mitigated with concrete parapets, bullet railing, bridge railings, pedestrian/bicycle railings, standard fences, and wildlife fences throughout the corridor. Connections to Lake County local roads were designed with dedicated connections and paved shoulders for low speed access roads. Trail pavement materials varied between concrete and asphalt pavement.

Project Highlights:

• Key design challenges included: navigating the design around a bald eagle nest’s primary protection zone, meandering the trail away from wildlife jump-out structures, deviating the alignment to salvage significant oak trees, interior and exterior ditch systems, providing bifurcated directional curb ramps side streets, warping access road connections to accommodate, Florida two percent maximum cross slopes within the pedestrian crosswalk. Portions of this trail are tree-top pedestrian and bicycle crossings, including bulb-out scenic overlooks of the wildlife preserve along the Wekiva River.