Orange County has confirmed the timeline and contractor for the Kirkman Road extension — a major roadway to Universal Orlando Resort's future Epic Universe theme park.
The $305 million, 1.7-mile project — billed as a public/private partnership between Orange County and Universal — will begin work on all utilities by Dec. 1 this year and start roadwork by Dec. 1, 2021, Renzo Nastasi, transportation planning manager for Orange County, told Orlando Business Journal. Universal is expected to have completion/certification of roadway work by April 30, 2025.
Universal is the entity responsible for managing the project, while Orange County and the Florida Department of Transportation will have the final authority to certify work and oversight, Nastasi added. Representatives from Universal and FDOT were not available for comment.
Johnson Bros. Corp., a company of Roanoke, Texas-based Southland Holdings LLC, is the general contractor for the entire extension, Nastasi said.
Kansas City, Missouri-based TranSystems Corp., which does business as TranSystems Corp. Consultants, was listed as the intended awardee for construction engineering and inspections services (CEI), according to project documents. TransSystems representatives were not available for comment.
A proposal to mass grade 34.6 acres near Lockheed Martin Corp.'s (NYSE: LMT) Sand Lake Road campus, which includes part of the roadway extension, is set to go before the Orange County development review committee on Oct. 21.
The plan, if approved by the county's DRC, would not have to go before the county commission unless the approval was appealed.
Funding for the project includes roughly $125 million from Orange County, about $164 million from Universal and $16 million from a Florida Department of Economic Opportunity grant. The project cost is subject to change, with Universal handling any overages not provided by the existing funding.
The extension will have eight total lanes including three travel lanes in each direction and two additional dedicated "transit" lanes, along with additional improvements for pedestrians and bicycles. The project will be built in three phases and create hundreds of temporary construction jobs and opportunities for suppliers.
This comes as work on Universal's future Epic Universe theme park, originally slated to debut in 2023, has been on pause since the Covid-19 pandemic struck in March. The road extension will be near the proposed theme park and may act as a major roadway to the planned park's entrance.
Orange County has presented the project as a way to increase mobility in the corridor for residents, businesses and tourists. Orlando's $75 billion tourism industry usually attracts 75 million annual visitors, but the Covid-19 pandemic has wiped out most leisure travel this year.
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Project square feet
| Rank | Prior Rank | Project name |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Orange County Convention Center meeting rooms renovations |
2 | 2 | Jefferson Lake Howell Apartments |
3 | 3 | Lake Nona Headquarters parking garage |