Acreage residents say SR 7 extension would help evacuating during a hurricane

LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. - The extension of State Road 7 is planned to be completed over the next five years, but during hurricane season, people who live in the Acreage wish the road was finished now.  They say it would provide them a quicker outlet from Palm Beach County.

Randy Swadley lives in the Acreage and was prepared for the Hurricane Irene to come his way the past few days.

"I got gas. I have the generator out," Swadley said. "I have the chord to run it to my power box so we could have water and well water."

If he needed to get out of town though from his house in the Acreage, the main way out is Northlake Boulevard to the Beeline Highway. The good news for people like Swadley is that the state plans to extend State Road 7 within the next five years.

"The State Road 7 extension will help us everyday as far as going down that direction," Swadley said. "It will alleviate a lot of the traffic problems out here myself."

Palm Beach County engineers say connecting the north and south ends of State Road 7 to the north still puts a driver back onto Northlake Boulevard, which takes drivers to the Beeline Highway or the Turnpike. 

West Palm Beach's Mayor Jeri Muoio said there's already plenty of ways to Northlake Boulevard.

"If they want to get to Northlake, there's Seminole Pratt Whitney," the Mayor said. " There's Coconut or Royal Palm Beach.  There's no need for the extension."

Concerned over the project's environmental impact on area water supply, Muoio plans to fight the state project. The project itself would turn State Road 7 into a four lane road and would have a higher speed limit than the current two lane roads drivers must use.

"It will divert traffic that is going through the Acreage and the Acreage is residential," County Engineer George Webb said. "So it would be taking traffic from the folks within the Acreage and putting it where it wouldn't be beside any residential areas."

That's what Randy wants in order to avoid being stuck in traffic during an evacuation.