POINCIANA, Fla. – A controversial $2.5 billion toll road is moving forward in Poinciana.

The Central Florida Expressway Authority approved the Southport Connector Project on Thursday, a 15-mile highway designed to ease traffic from Poinciana Parkway to the Turnpike.

Part of the road will be elevated above Cypress Parkway and intersections are to be improved, but it will cut through environmentally-sensitive land.

For some neighbors, it’s a non-issue because they say the highway is badly needed.

“There’s about 90,000 people that now live in Poinciana. There’s one way in and one way out, and it’s desperate that we have this highway,” said George Arnold.

Environmental groups warn that the road will impact wildlife and prescribed burns.

A construction timeline hasn’t been given the gree

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