Warning that time for construction was quickly running out, the Central Florida Highway Authority board of directors unanimously agreed Thursday to move forward Construction of a toll road — first proposed decades ago — between State Route 417 and Orlando Sanford International Airport.

At a cost of more than $200 million, the two-lane road will help relieve traffic congestion in one of the fastest-growing areas of Seminole County and make access to the expanding airport easier, proponents of the project say.

“This is really critical, and the time is now or never,” said Christopher Meyer, chairman of the 10-member road agency’s board of directors. “Because we keep growing and more rooftops are coming up. So let’s seize this opportunity now.”

Construction of the nearly two-mile road is still years away, as CFX must first figure out how to pay for the project. This includes spending an estimated $18.3 million to purchase homes and properties along the route.

Toll revenue is expected to generate $48.1 million over the project’s 40 years. But that’s less than a quarter of the total cost of $200.4 million. CFX’s master plan recommends toll revenue cover at least half of the cost of the construction project, said Glenn Brisimon, the agency’s chief infrastructure officer.

“As such, the project suffers from a lack of (financial) viability,” he said.

The rest of the money must come from surrounding local governments — including Seminole County and the city of Sanford — along with state and federal grants.

Last November, Seminole voters approved the county adding an extra penny to the state sales tax to pay for new roads. In addition, Seminole commissioners this summer approved adding five cents to the price of every gallon of gas sold in the county, starting Jan. 1, as well as to pay for roads and mass transit.

Traffic on Lake Mary Boulevard near the airport has become more congested over the years and will get worse as more homes and apartments continue to be built, local officials said.

In addition, the airport is expected to grow. Last year, the airport handled nearly 2.9 million passengers, an 81% increase from 2005, when it had 1.6 million passengers.

By 2050, the Seminole population is expected to swell by 21% to more than 585,000 people. Lake Mary Boulevard is expected to have 44% more cars and trucks by then.

About two years ago, CFX proposed four connector routes, all of which showed northbound drivers taking the new route near the Lake Jesup toll plaza for SR 417 and traveling northeast, then up Red Cleveland Boulevard directly to the airport property north of Lake Mary Boulevard.

Drivers heading south on SR 417 will not be able to access the toll road directly.

On Thursday, board members approved the final route, which passes through farmland and mostly undeveloped areas between the airport and SR 417, northwest of the Jesup Lake Conservation Area.

Frank Iopolo Jr., Member Airport Board of DirectorsMosul described the proposed project as “the most important regional transportation project” in the province.

Rebecca Arthur, President and CEO Seminole County ChamberHe added that the new road will help economic growth around the airport.

“For businesses that use the airport and around it, they know this can’t come fast enough,” she said. “Traffic around the airport continues to increase and become more and more congested. With this connectivity in place, we can significantly expand our use of the airport and the industrial and office spaces surrounding it.”

No one spoke in opposition to the project at the meeting.

But last June, Sanford resident Becky Burke She learned at a community meeting that the proposed route for the connector road would pass through the middle of her late 19th century home.

Her neighbor, Adam Shafran, off Plum Lane, also learned that the proposed road would cut through his home and a nursery of exotic fruit trees that he had worked for years to collect.

Neither could be reached for comment on Friday. But both said they understand they will eventually have to leave their quiet rural area in Seminole County.

Under Florida’s eminent domain laws, property owners must receive fair compensation after an independent evaluation. The owners can then appeal and be reimbursed for their attorney’s fees.

Seminole Commissioner Andrea Hare, who represents the county on the CFX board, said it is important to move forward with the project before any new development is built along the road.

“It’s difficult to build a road through any community,” she said. “But now is a good time to do it, based on the fact that there are more residential developments in that particular area. So this would have less impact, if you can imagine it, on the residents in that area if we did it now. And if we didn’t do it now, I’m not sure we would be able to do it at all.”