Sumter County will pay nearly $50 million plus unspecified costs on several projects for regional roads in the Villages of Southern Oaks, according to road agreements.
County Administrator Bradley Arnold reported on the progress of the road projects at a special meeting earlier this week of the Sumter County Board of Commissioners.
Under the road agreements, the county is required to reimburse The Villages for the development cost of the regional roads. The amounts are payable five years after construction costs are incurred.
The reimbursement comes from gas taxes and road impact fees are part of the formula.
Road maintenance and construction costs, including the recent repaving of Buena Vista and Morse boulevards in The Villages, were a driving force for the county’s 25 percent tax-rate increase last year. Three commissioners who voted for the increase were ousted in August and November elections and new commissioners take office next week.
The most expensive road project is Meggison Road, which runs from State Road 44 near Buena Vista Boulevard to Warm Springs Avenue, north of the Florida Turnpike. The project came in below the adopted budget of $30.1 million, Arnold reported.
Marsh Bend Trail, which has four phases, came in under the adopted budget of $5.1 million and payment will start to come due in 2022.
Morse Boulevard construction from the roundabout to Meggison Road also was below the adopted budget of $2.6 million, while the roundabout at Warm Springs also was below the budget of $2.4 million.
The cost of Bexley Phase I from Meggison Road to the future turnpike bridge is estimated at $1.5 million but is not payable until 15 years after construction begins.
No cost estimates were provided for several other major projects.
They include the Bexley bridge over the turnpike, which will connect Bexley and Corbin Trail; Corbin Trail from the bridge to County Road 470; realignment and widening of CR 470 in front of the Coleman federal prison; and three unnamed roads south of CR 470.
Two projects in the design phase are the extension of Buena Vista Boulevard south of SR 44 to a roundabout at Meggison Road and realignment and widening of County Road 523 across the CSX railroad tracks near U.S. 301.
