PHOTO VIA CITY OF MOUNT DORA
Mount Dora’s Donnelly Street reconstruction project is on track to finish next month, wrapping up a repair effort that began after record flooding washed out a section of the road last year.
Crews from the Middlesex Corporation have been working on the road since late March, with the project expected to be completed by May. Work includes full road reconstruction along with drainage updates and utility upgrades.
According to a report we received from Mount Dora earlier today, new drainage pipes are fully installed, and the roadway base is being prepared ahead of paving. Crews are also installing erosion control matting to stabilize soil and rip rap (large rocks placed along drainage channels) to slow water flow and protect the new infrastructure once it’s in place.
Mount Dora is also working with engineering firm Kimley-Horn to evaluate the entire stormwater basin and identify system-wide improvements needed to prevent a similar incident from repeating in the near future. A Hazard Mitigation Grant Program application has been submitted for the Dogwood Mountain area, and additional grant applications are in preparation. The city has also completed dredging of the canal along Old Eustis Road to reduce sediment flowing into Lake John, though residents may still notice sediment during rain events until Donnelly Street and surrounding improvements are complete.
