FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Susan Blexrud 407-246-3107

MERCY DRIVE CORRIDOR 
IMPROVEMENTS GROUNDBREAKING

ORLANDO, Fla. (March 14, 2003) – Mayor Buddy Dyer today at 10 a.m. will break ground on the Mercy Drive Corridor improvements project at the intersection of Mercy Drive and Country Club Drive in Orlando.

In 1998, City Commissioner Daisy Lynum, County Commissioner Homer Hartage and former County Commissioner Mable Butler conducted a site visit with residents of the Mercy Drive corridor and city and county staff to examine the existing conditions along the roadway. They found open swales, no sidewalks, inadequate pedestrian crosswalks and heavy commercial truck traffic. Discussions with residents about road improvements continued for the next four years and the project design plan evolved, based on input from residents, from a base-level road improvements project to a multi-modal neighborhood transportation enhancement project. 

Scope of the work includes:

· Closing drainage ditches
· Improving aesthetics and landscaping
· Improving street lighting
· Improving pedestrian crossings 
· Speeding control
· Limiting truck traffic
· Connecting sidewalks
· Providing transit shelters
· Providing bicycle lanes

The project will take approximately 12 months and has a budget of $5,565,000. The contractor is JCB Construction. Project partners are the City of Orlando, Orange County, Orlando Utilities Commission and the Florida Department of Transportation.

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