Seminole County asks Oviedo to help fund Sanford connector road

Oviedo may soon be asked to help pay for a two-mile road outside its limits that county leaders say would ease traffic, improve airport access and support growth around Sanford. Seminole County is pressing the city to consider using revenue from its five-cent local option fuel tax for the State Road 417 Sanford Airport Connector, a project estimated at about $200 million.

The ask lands as a local accountability test for Oviedo residents, who are being told the payoff would be less congestion on East Lake Mary Boulevard and nearby roads, along with a more direct route to Orlando Sanford International Airport. The connector is also being framed as a long-range business investment for the airport corridor, where commercial development has grown alongside commuter traffic.

Central Florida Expressway Authority approved the preferred alternative, Alignment 2A, on Oct. 9, 2025. The plan calls for a road of about two miles that would run from SR 417 toward the airport entrance at or near Red Cleveland Boulevard, beginning near the Lake Jesup toll plaza. The study also examined an elevated option along East Lake Mary Boulevard.

The project has been studied for years. CFX says a direct SR 417-to-Sanford airport connection was first considered in 2006, revisited in a 2007 study that found it was not financially viable, and studied again after Seminole County requested a fresh look because of airport growth and worsening congestion. The current effort followed a feasibility study completed in August 2023 and is expected to move next into design and environmental review before construction begins. One estimate has put the price at $200.4 million, and construction is anticipated to begin in 2031.

Seminole County approved an initial $25 million payment in February 2026, with a second $25 million installment due between October 2027 and September 2028. County officials have said the countywide funding picture is broader than Oviedo alone, with Sanford, Lake Mary and Winter Springs also asked to participate.

The timing matters for Oviedo because the city’s five-cent local option fuel tax took effect Jan. 1, 2026, after being approved in August 2025. County officials said it should generate about $8.8 million a year and also help cover Seminole County’s roughly $11 million annual SunRail obligation. For some residents, the question is whether local fuel-tax revenue should be diverted toward a toll-road connector serving an airport corridor rather than staying focused on roads and services closer to home. Neighbors living near the preferred route have also raised concerns about homes, wetlands and wildlife habitat.

Seminole County’s pitch ties the connector to traffic relief and economic development. Oviedo’s response will show whether city leaders are willing to turn a new local tax stream into a regional transportation bet, or whether they see the bill as too large for a road that does not run through the city itself.