Fairbanks Avenue Crosswalk at Interlachen Is Closed Through January as FDOT Rebuilds the Corridor for Safety

A daily crossing for Rollins College students and Winter Park neighbors is gone until the new year. The Florida Department of Transportation shut off the traffic signal at Fairbanks Avenue and Interlachen Avenue at 8 p.m. on October 22 and is removing the crosswalk, redirecting pedestrians to Park or Ollie avenues instead, according to a notice sent to the Rollins community and reported by the college's newspaper, The Sandspur. The closure runs through January, while a new raised crosswalk is built at South Interlachen Avenue.

The work is part of FDOT's safety project along State Road 426, the stretch of Fairbanks between South Park and North Lakemont avenues. "With nearly 750 documented crashes occurring along this segment of S.R. 426 since 2018, multiple features included in this project were designed specifically to address these safety concerns," Cindi Lane, public information director for FDOT District Five, said in an email to The Sandspur. FDOT's speed data found drivers traveling about 10 to 15 mph over the posted limit, particularly around the curves at Osceola and Brewer avenues, and crash analyses showed distracted driving played a role in about 40 percent of crashes along the corridor.

The rebuild is extensive: raised intersections at Phelps, Shepherd and Cortland avenues and at Chase and Ollie avenues, speed tables at several spots, dynamic curve warning systems with protective barrier walls at the Osceola and Brewer curves, and three new raised midblock crossings near Henkel Circle, Trismen Park and Fletcher Place, each with a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon that stays dark until a pedestrian activates it. Lane closures run intermittently from 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Sunday through Thursday nights. FDOT anticipates the project will be completed in fall 2027; the project map and updates are posted at cflroads.com/451282-2.