Opponents of a Central Florida Expressway Authority plan to put a segment of a toll road through the Split Oak Forest conservation area rallied Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, after dark in Orlando.

Split Oak advocates had hoped the wildlife agency would steer the proposed toll road, State Road 534, around a forest created 30 years ago with a pledge to preserve it forever.

Despite the hopes and efforts of Split Oak Forest’s most zealous defenders, the Central Florida Expressway Authority’s contentious plan to build a stretch of toll road through the prized ...