ORLANDO, Fla. — Relief is coming to one of the most congested stretches of Interstate 4.
Construction is underway to widen a stretch of I-4 between US-27 and World Drive.
It has been dubbed the “Accelerated Start Project” and it’s just one piece of the Florida Department of Transportation’s larger program, called “Moving I-4 Forward.”
Only Channel 9′s Alexa Lorenzo went out to get a first hand look at how quickly crews are moving as FDOT aims to complete work by the end of the year.
Drone 9 captured a bird’s-eye view on a late Wednesday morning of the area where officials said 140,000 cars travel daily.
The 7.5 mile stretch of I-4 seems to be busy at any given time on any given day.
“This is a project that’s always been on the docket. However the funding wasn’t quite there.” FDOT’s Matthew Richardson said.
Richardson walked Lorenzo through the work happening right now on the Accelerated Start Project.
“This project is about 10 to 15 years ahead of schedule,” Richardson said.
Channel 9 saw heavy machinery out and about as crews worked on pile driving to prepare the underground infrastructure needed to add one lane in each direction.
As part of the project, drivers will also see improvements to the Champions Gate and US-27 Interchange. Overnight lane closures are already underway to help speed the project along.
“We are taking that already existing shoulder lane and we are making it the congestion relief lane ... so that’s one of the innovative ways we are able to approach this to get it done quickly by the end of the year,” Richardson said.
So get used to seeing roadwork through this stretch of I-4 through Orange and Osceola counties, because construction is in high gear and the state says it is committed to getting this project done.
“It’s a fast paced process and it’s keeping up with that pace. We understand that we are on a timeline of having the congestion relief lanes done by the end of the year,” Richardson said.
Five larger projects that are part of the Moving I-4 Forward program will widen the highway from six lanes to as many as 12, by adding general-use and express lanes.
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