Drivers are being urged to pay close attention to a major lane shift in the U.S. Hwy. 27/441 construction zone in Lady Lake.
The northbound lanes have shifted to a newly constructed roadway from Lake Ella Road to East Lakeview Street. The shift relocates traffic onto nearly two miles of newly paved roadway and will allow the contractor to work on the next phase of construction by opening the work zone area.
Electronic message boards have been installed to inform motorists about the traffic shift. Motorists are advised to exercise extra caution when driving through the work zone.
Despite pleas from law enforcement, there have been numerous accidents in the construction zone.
In April, two teens were killed in an early morning crash blamed on speeding.
Earlier this month, a woman was airlifted from the scene of an accident after a teen driver admitted he had been distracted by his GPS and set off a chain-reaction crash.
The $45 million widening project from Lake Ella Road to Avenida Central (at Griffin Avenue) in The Villages is expected to continue through fall 2023. The project remains haunted by the death of 27-year-old John Joseph Terranova of Leesburg who was buried alive after a retaining wall caved in on him Feb. 2 at the site of the bridge over County Road 25.