LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Officials in Lake County are nearing a breakthrough in fast-tracking a long-awaited road expansion project that has been on the agenda since the early 2000s.

During the Lake County Commission meeting on Tuesday, representatives from the city of Clermont highlighted that Hartwood Marsh Road is the primary source of public grievances.

“Every single week, I receive questions or comments about Hartwood Marsh Road,” stated Lake County Commissioner Sean Parks.

Parks suggested a straightforward strategy to jumpstart construction on Hartwood Marsh Road by the summer of 2026 and expedite enhancements on 44B in the county’s northern region: securing short-term loans.

“I am optimistic that we’ll decide to move forward with both of these projects,” Parks remarked. “It’s a significant concern in the northern part of the county as well.”

The Hartwood Marsh widening project from Highway 27 to Regency Hills Drive was originally designed in the 2000s.

If the county doesn’t move forward with the short-term loan, the earliest construction could begin is 2027, when grant funding becomes available.

“We need it now,” said Clermont resident Joe Fumasi. “Not down the road. We can’t kick the can any further.”

The short-term loan Parks is proposing for Hartwood Marsh would be $12 million.

While commissioners recognized the need, Commissioner Kirby Smith said he didn’t have an issue with the proposal but wants to be able to look at all funding options.

“If this was agendized, I would have gone down personally, driven that road several times, look at the other option,” Smith said. ”There may be other options out here other than ‘Oh, let’s just take out a loan.’ There may be options that we can take something away from, something the county has and add to this road.”

Clermont resident Vincent Niemiec was also at Tuesday’s meeting.

Even though commissioners didn’t commit to the loan during the meeting, he still feels like it’s a win.

“I feel a lot more confident because I felt a lot of optimism from the commissioners today,” Niemiec said.

Now, the county will move forward with consulting a financial advisor to figure out its options for a loan, should it decide to go that route.

That will be discussed at a county commission meeting at a later date. Once the date is set, we’ll update this article.