WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. — Drivers could see major changes along a busy stretch of State Road 434 as transportation officials work to reduce crashes and improve traffic flow.
More than 30,000 vehicles travel SR 434 through Winter Springs each day, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
FDOT recorded 419 crashes between U.S. 17-92 and State Road 419 from 2021 through 2025. Forty-five of those crashes occurred in the center turn lane.
The agency is proposing replacing the two-way center turn lane with a raised median from Winter Springs Elementary School to Charles Street near SR 419.
The change is part of a larger $12 million resurfacing project planned for the area.
Under the proposal, drivers would use designated directional openings to turn into businesses and side streets instead of crossing multiple lanes of traffic from the center lane.
FDOT will hold an open house Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Longwood Community Building at 200 W. Warren Ave. The meeting will allow drivers, residents and business owners to review the plans and provide feedback.
Shazar and Alicia Celestro have owned Seaside Graphix on Bell Avenue for 18 years. They said they have witnessed numerous crashes and close calls along SR 434.
“We’ve seen a lot of traffic on this road,” Shazar Celestro said. “Just a lot of accidents, and pretty much everything that goes on on this road, we’ve probably seen or heard it.”
The couple recalled a deadly crash last July in which a tractor-trailer making a left turn at Bell Avenue and SR 434 struck a woman in a wheelchair.
“I remember the wheelchair actually being underneath the truck,” Celestro said. “It was so scary to see that. It was horrible.”
Celestro said one of the business’s employees was also rear-ended while attempting to leave the property.
“He was pulling out, and he was in the median area, and the lady behind him thought he was going to keep going, and he got rear-ended,” Celestro said.
Some drivers and business owners may be concerned that the raised median could make it more difficult to access properties along the road. The Celestros, however, believe the proposed changes would improve safety for drivers and pedestrians, including children traveling near the elementary school and a nearby skate park.
“I think that would work,” Celestro said. “If you have a blocked-off spot where people can actually turn right and left, it’s a lot safer. That would be a great improvement.”
Construction is currently scheduled to begin in early 2028.
People who cannot attend Thursday’s open house can review the plans and submit comments through FDOT’s project website.
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