Drivers say if you're traveling from The Acreage and Loxahatchee areas and heading east, make sure to pack some patience.
Cathy Probst has lived in The Acreage for 28 years. She remembers when the area was barely developed. "Now with housing developments going up Westlake, Avenir, Ancient Tree we are really looking at gridlock."
She says there's no major alternate routes when stuck in traffic, forcing drivers to take smaller roads.
"If you try to wind your way through Coconut to Royal Palm Boulevard to Okeechobee, well everybody is doing that," said Probst.
Palm Beach County Engineer David Ricks says several new communities will force the roads to be expanded. The county tracks development with maps showing percentages when it comes to the amount of traffic they believe will be generated by the new communities on a particular roadway.
Avenir and Ancient Tree are two new neighborhoods being built off Northlake Boulevard.
"They are going to expand that from four to six lanes and hopefully that will start sometime this fall or summer," Ricks said.
And there are plans just west of that location.
"From Hall Road to Coconut Boulevard we have an expansion from two to four lanes in 2020," said Ricks.
Seminole Pratt Whitney Road will also be expanded south of Northlake Boulevard. Drivers like Probst want those plans to become a reality sooner rather than later.
"There's hundreds of people who are just as frustrated as I am so I really would like to see the developers do what I thought were expected needed to do which is to put the money into adequate roadways," said Probst.
Ricks says the State Road 7 extension expanded to Northlake Boulevard continues to be in a court battle.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay is hosting a town hall meeting Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at The Acreage Branch Library at 15801 Orange Blvd. in Loxahatchee.
