ROYAL PALM BEACH - The Western Parkway reliever road opens Wednesday, April 8 at the intersection of Okeechobee Boulevard and U.S. Highway 441. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at the intersection at 9:30 a.m. April 8.

The new two-lane will enable commuters from the Acreage to bypass village streets to get to and from Okeechobee Boulevard and U.S. Highway 441.

Western Parkway extends 3.5 miles north and west from the Okeechobee/U.S. Highway 441 terminus through the Pond Cypress Natural Area to Persimmon Boulevard in the Acreage. There are currently two connections, at Persimmon and a half-mile further south at Orange Grove Boulevard.

The project cost about $25 million, and there is funding in place to extend Western Parkway an additional mile to 60th Street North in about two years.