After nearly two years of closures, detours and construction, Britt Road in Lake County is beginning to look like a road again — and when it reopens, heavy trucks will face new restrictions meant to protect the roadway and improve safety.
Crews are now moving dirt and using heavy equipment as work continues to rebuild the road, a key route for nearby residents and businesses.
The road is expected to reopen in October.
For businesses along Britt Road, the reopening could bring relief after months of traffic disruptions and confusion for customers.
“Some of them get lost and realize that there’s a closure, so they turn around and go home,” Paula Ferguson at Britt Road Animal Hospital said. “But for those critical patients, I mean, a matter of minutes makes a big difference.”
The Lake County Commission this week approved a resolution banning trucks weighing more than 10 tons from a stretch of Britt Road between Wolf Branch Road and State Road 44.
County officials said Britt Road was not built to handle high volumes of heavy truck traffic. They said keeping large trucks off the road should help preserve the rebuilt roadway and make the corridor safer for drivers.
Residents said they are hopeful the changes will ease congestion and reduce safety concerns along the route.
“We’re excited,” one resident said. “With the traffic jams that we’ve been getting, I hope that it alleviates some of that.”
Another resident said the road’s curves and limited visibility have made heavy truck traffic a concern.
“It’s very windy, a lot of blind corners,” the resident said. “So, yeah, it’ll be a whole lot better.”
Some residents, including Linda and Greg Reigle, said they are also concerned about speeding once the road reopens, especially as drivers adjust to using the route again.
“Particularly right after it opens up because it’s going to be chaos going through there for several months at least,” one of them said.
The truck ban will include exemptions for some vehicles, including deliveries, garbage trucks and agricultural vehicles.
Britt Road remains under construction, with the reopening planned for October.