Almost six months after Lake County was hit with a deluge of rainwater, crews have begun to remove the remaining chunks of damaged road from Donnelly Street.
On Tuesday, crews began the process of rebuilding the parts of the Mount Dora road that were washed away in October when stormwater breached two retention ponds. It caused parts of North Donnelly Street and the adjacent walkway to collapse.
Mount Dora Mayor James Homich is pleased with the quick turnaround time.
“It wasn't a simple roadway fix that most people are used to in Florida, lay down, put down some asphalt,” Homich said. “We had to design drainage. We had to redesign the walkway. It was all a major project. And then, after we got the design, we had to bid it out for construction. That turnaround was pretty good.”
North Donnelly Street is one of the major arteries leading to downtown Mount Dora. Getting it back in operation was critical for traffic, Homich said.
The October storm dumped 19 inches of rain over parts of Lake County, which many residents said felt like a hurricane. The Florida Division of Emergency Management deployed pumps to suck up 30 million gallons of water from flooded areas around the county.
Due to the wet and hilly nature of the area, repairing the road is a challenge, Homich said, but he hopes the process will move quickly.
“It's a very wet area, and if we get more rain or heavy rain. … Hopefully, we're in the dry season, of course, it shouldn't be too problematic,” he said.
Homich said the project should be completed in early May.
Also on Tuesday, Lake County commissioners approved $2.5 million in emergency funds to repair Empire Church Road, which collapsed in February due to a sinkhole. The depression occurred along the portion of road between Bear Lake Road and Edgehill Drive in Groveland.
