MOUNT DORA, Fla. – Progress is visible on Mount Dora’s Donnelly Street as recovery efforts continue following historic rain that washed out the road last month.
The Florida Department of Transportation has completed initial restoration work on the damaged section after Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency last week.
“They had backhoes, dump trucks, whole front-end loaders, they had them all there and started to clean up the mess we had,” Mount Dora Mayor James Homich said.
[BELOW: Lake County declares state of emergency after cities hit with up to 19 inches of rain]
The washout happened after the city was hit with 19 inches of rain in late October. The City said FDOT’s completed restoration work included clearing asphalt and roadway debris, backfilling and compaction with structural fill, and installation of new drainage pipes.
The immediate work helped to protect utilities, according to Homich.
“There’s a lot of utilities that run through there. Fiber, cable, sewer and other lines that are vital to the city. They had to stabilize all of the utilities and go from there,” he said.
The city is currently installing utilities and accelerating the design and engineering phase for Donnelly Street. Additionally, FDOT is helping Mount Dora obtain Local Agency Program certification, which would make the city eligible for federal funding to support the reconstruction project.
[BELOW: Officials survey flood damage after weekend deluge in Mount Dora]
Early estimates for the reconstruction project are approximately $5 million, though Homich noted they are still waiting on official engineering assessments.
“We end up rebuilding it and then looking for reimbursement from the federal government highway funds,” Homich said.
City officials emphasize that while this section of Donnelly Street remains closed, downtown Mount Dora remains accessible through several alternate routes. The city has confirmed that local shops and restaurants remain open, and all scheduled events will continue as planned.
Traffic modifications have been implemented to manage increased volumes, including a temporary barrier across U.S. Highway 441 at the Fiddler Road/Bata Drive intersection to restrict through traffic and left turns. The intersection of Fiddler Drive and Grandview Street has been converted to a three-way stop to improve traffic flow and safety.