A giant, elevated traffic circle is being constructed in addition to a road extension for just over $300 million in Orange County, Florida. Local leadership hopes it will help alleviate expected traffic to Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic Universe opening in summer 2025.
Traffic Circle Concept Rendering
The planned road improvements will extend Kirkman Road 1.7 miles from Carrier Drive to Universal Boulevard. The project plan also includes an elevated traffic circle, with the hopes that the massive piece of infrastructure will help with some of the anticipated traffic to the area.
Ken Leeming, Orange County highway construction manager, informed News 13 that “one of the main features of the project is an elevated traffic circle. That’s going to be used to facilitate traffic distribution to the Universal property.” The road is expected to be finished in late 2024. Epic Universe, Universal’s newest theme park addition, is scheduled for a summer 2025 opening.
Leeming also stated the road is “fully multimodal, the first one in Orange County. It provides bicycle/pedestrian facilities, it provides three travel lanes in each direction for general use and it also provides dedicated bus lanes, which will assist in distributing traffic to the Universal park.”
News 13’s Twitter post with the concept rendering can be seen below.
Universal will be paying just over half the projected cost for this project at $160 million. Orange County controversially contributed $125 million for the project, and the state of Florida granted $16 million towards the cost as well. The total expected bill for this infrastructure addition is just over $300 million.
The county provided significant funding in hopes the new road extension and traffic circle would alleviate some of the congestion on International Drive. This route will provide another option for travelers going north or south in the main attractions area.
Construction Work Underway
Anyone driving through the area knows there is significant construction work for the project already underway. Below is footage captured today. News 13 was also granted access to the construction area to capture some ground-level footage of the progress so far.
We have tons of additional coverage on Epic Universe for you to check out below:
- Universal Files Patent for Potential Epic Universe Carousel
- Universal Files Trademarks for New Epic Universe Hotels, Changes Hotel Naming Convention
- Universal Files Curse of the Werewolf, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, Starfall Racers, and More Trademarks Reportedly for New Epic Universe Theme Park
- FIRST LOOK: New Logo Revealed for Universal’s Epic Universe Theme Park
- Sex Trafficking, Theft, and More: Crime Plagues I-Drive Hotels Steps Away from Universal’s Upcoming Epic Universe Theme Park
What do you think of this giant traffic circle? Will it alleviate traffic issues for Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic Universe? We’d love to see your opinions in the comments below.
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