A recently launched study will look at the feasibility of six laning U.S. Highway 192 from Aeronautical Lane to Holopaw Road, a project deemed vital to accommodate traffic from future development on the corridor and to speed hurricane evacuation from the coast.

The $1.5 million project development and environmental study, with an expected completion date of August 2007, will examine whether the road can be widened to six lanes on that 18.5-mile section of the highway.

The road is two or four lanes in various segments. The section of U.S. Highway 192 that runs through St. Cloud is already six lanes and will not be part of the study.

According to Chad Luedtke, of project consultant HDR Engineering, the study would also examine whether, and where sidewalks, curbs and gutters would be installed.

“The exact limits of six-laning are not known,” said Luedtke.

According to Luedtke, the traffic on this roadway is expected to increase in the next several years. The current rate of vehicles per day using the highway ranges from 13,000 to 56,000 depending on the location; the range expected by 2025 is 22,500 to 64,500 vehicles per day.

Jim Lentz, president of the Harmony Development Co., told Osceola County commissioners Monday that he hopes that by pushing this study through now funding for the construction on the project will come through earlier than FDOT’s normal scheduling.

Harmony, which sits along the highway, is collaborating with the Florida Department of Transportation on this study. According to Luedtke, the state is using money collected from Harmony for traffic impacts as part of its DRI (development of regional impact) to fund the study. Osceola County is not contributing funding for this state-controlled road, but did approve the funding arrangement for the study.

More development planned along this highway and the almost certainty of a bottleneck if a large-scale evacuation from the coast were necessary makes the widening critical, said Lentz. The widening, he said, would benefit not only Harmony but also everybody in the region.

Luedtke said several public meetings are planned to inform residents about the project. The first will take place June 20 at the St. Cloud Senior Center.

The studies will look at environmental and historical site impacts, access from existing roadways and interaction with future projects in the area, use of the existing corridor right of way, effects on residents and property owners and the necessity of reconstructing bridges, culverts and other structures.