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Highlands Today

CR 635 Now On Back Burner

County Hasn’t Found North-South Alternative To U.S. 27

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By Gary Pinnell | Highlands Today

Published: June 25, 2008

SEBRING — Highlands County is still working on a plan for a north-south route from the Highlands Hammock State Park area to Thunderbird Road, Planner Don Hanna said Wednesday.
"We don't have the model updated," Hanna said. "Tindale-Oliver is still working on it. It's supposed to be done in December."

The item was going to be discussed in the Long Range Transportation Committee, but the 10 a.m. Wednesday meeting was canceled due to the funeral of Mason Smoak in Lake Placid.

To move traffic from overburdened U.S. 27, the county proposed adding two miles to the north end of CR 635, which currently runs from SR 66 to Hammock Road. That would have allowed Country Club of Sebring and Golf Hammock residents access to Wal-Mart and Home Depot, for instance, without spending as much time on the busy highway.

However, environmentalists were upset that the county wanted to build a new road bordering Highlands Hammock State Park. The county then looked at routing traffic through Heron, Egret and other city streets in the Sebring Hills subdivision.

"There was a question about how many homes we would have to take out to do that," Hanna said. "All the models predicted not being able to handle the traffic, and we need to be able to find a new way to do it. There doesn't appear to be any other logical solution at this point."

Also to be discussed at the meeting was the Efficient Transportation Decision Making process, a system developed by the Department of Transportation with alerts planners to issues that could be looming for realignment or widening the roads, Hanna said.

Gary Pinnell can be reached at 863 386-5828 or gpinnell@highlandstoday.com

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