Construction crews are now working on a new portion of the Wekiva Parkway that is supposed to help drivers in Lake County.

  • Latest section will cost about $50M, should be completed by 2018
  • Entire Wekiva Parkway project to cost $1.6B

More than 27,000 drivers are expected to use the new portion of the parkway, called Section 2C that will connect State Road 46 to the rest of the parkway near the Orange-Lake County line.

The entire parkway, which will include 25 miles of tolls, will complete the loop around Central Florida and is designed to help relieve some of metro Orlando's congestion.

Construction on Section 2C will cost about $50 million and won't be completed until January 2018.

"This segment will be important for these folks in Mount Dora, Leesburg, Tavares — any of these folks who are trying to get to (State Road) 429, to Tampa, the attractions — a lot of different areas," said Mary Brooks, a spokeswoman for the Wekiva Parkway project. "It's going to make access more convenient and faster for folks in that area."

The first section of the Wekiva Parkway opened in January, but the entire project won't be finished until 2021.

Drivers should be prepared for construction delays.