The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) began construction on Monday night to add two more lanes to I-4 West.
I-4 Construction
While the addition of the lanes will be helpful in the long run, two I-4 East lanes will have to close overnight for construction work.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, one eastbound lane will close from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. and the second will close from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly. The closure is on a 7-mile stretch of the interstate from east of U.S. 27 in Polk County to east of World Drive near Disney Springs.
The closures could affect late-night traffic leaving Disney Springs, which is usually open until 11 p.m. It could also affect guests staying nearby, including at vacation homes in Davenport and ChampionsGate.
Work to improve I-4 will also soon include the construction of wider entrance and exit ramps at the ChampionsGate interchange.
Ultimately, additional lanes will be added to I-4 in both directions. The two new I-4 West lanes are projected to open this year.
I-4, which runs east to west across Central Florida and through Orlando, is the most congested highway in the U.S., according to data analytics firm INRIX (via Orlando Sentinel). Last summer, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the Moving I-4 Forward project in hopes of improving traffic.
“Moving I-4 Forward is a first of its kind program, changing the way the transportation industry delivers projects,” said Keith Slater, Moving I-4 Forward’s program director. “Our team is committed to innovating and implementing ideas that get results faster so that the community can spend less time in traffic and more time doing what they love.”
FDOT originally intended for the initiative to take 15-20 years but adjusted the timeline to 10 years. The new westbound lanes are being completed before larger construction projects begin, in hopes that it will relieve future construction-related congestion.
“With that area already having a shoulder, we’re taking that shoulder and we’re turning it into a lane,” said FDOT spokesperson Matthew Richardson. “It really is just milling and paving that we’re having to do so that we’re able to get that additional lane done quickly. When it comes to construction you often hear terms like ‘it tends to get worse before it gets better.’ What we’re doing by adding that congestion relief lane is that we’re trying to make things better as we’re improving things.”
A new shoulder will eventually be built to replace the one turned into a lane.
Moving I-4 Forward will result in I-4 being widened from six lanes to 12. FDOT will also reconstruct various ramps, add new connections, resurface the road, and widen shoulders.
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