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Tech upgrades aim to curb I-4 crashes, congestion between Tampa and Orlando
MSN News ^ | April 14, 2021 | C.T. Bowen, Tampa Bay Times

Posted on 04/14/2021 4:12:05 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

TAMPA — Transportation planners are preparing to use new technology to try to solve an old problem — traffic crashes and congestion on Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando.

The state Department of Transportation is designing a corridor management system that will relay real time information directly to motorists about congestion, accidents, work zones, weather warnings and even end-of-the-traffic-back-up locations on I-4 and alternate routes. The idea behind so-called connected vehicle technology is to improve traffic flow on the interstate and east-west alternatives without adding new lanes or acquiring new right of way.

On Wednesday, Hillsborough’s Metropolitan Planning Organization — elected and appointed officials sitting as the local transportation planning agency — agreed to amend its current improvement program to budget nearly $14.5 million for the system.

More than 150,000 vehicles travel I-4 between Tampa and Orlando daily. There were 45 fatal accidents and nearly 2,100 injury crashes in a two-year period ending in 2018. The accidents lead to delays. On average, there are two lane closures each day, and every 11 days the highway is shut down completely in a single direction.

In an effort to reduce those numbers, the corridor management system will run from the central business district in Tampa to the southwest side of Orlando at the Florida Turnpike. It includes 77 miles of I-4, 122 miles of other limited-access routes, and arterial roads equipped with 491 traffic signals.

Construction in the Tampa Bay area is expected to begin in summer 2022 and be completed in 2024.

The hardware includes roadside detectors providing wireless communication between highway and street locations and vehicles equipped with on-board receivers. Video and radar will aid automated traffic signals on alternate routes.

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: accidents; congestion; connectedvehicles; construction; cvt; drivers; fdot; florida; growth; highways; hillsborough; i4; infrastructure; localnews; orlando; routing; tampa; technology; traffic; transportation

1 posted on 04/14/2021 4:12:05 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
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To: BobL; sphinx; GreenLanternCorps; oldvirginian; Haiku Guy; napscoordinator; ConservativeInPA; ...

PING!


2 posted on 04/14/2021 4:13:57 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (GOP-free since 10/9/20)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Good luck to them. How does a Tesla do in a 2 hour traffic jam?


3 posted on 04/14/2021 4:20:37 PM PDT by Honest Nigerian
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
They're going to install more sign like these


4 posted on 04/14/2021 4:24:14 PM PDT by monkeyshine (live and let live is dead)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

I drove that stretch last year.

It was a regular gumball rally.

I followed a couple of brothas with heavy feet and got to Orlando in an hour.


5 posted on 04/14/2021 4:32:12 PM PDT by Alas Babylon! ("You, the American people, are my only special interest." --President Donald J. Trump)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Nothing will calm the nutcase drivers on this route


6 posted on 04/14/2021 4:32:37 PM PDT by UB355 (Slow Traffic keep right)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Nothing will calm the nutcase drivers on this route


7 posted on 04/14/2021 4:33:14 PM PDT by UB355 (Slow Traffic keep right)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Don’t smart phones and GPS already do this? Yes they do. But hey, when they started the study smart phones and GPS probably didn’t exist.


8 posted on 04/14/2021 4:33:45 PM PDT by Justa (If where you came from is so great then why aren't Floridians moving there?)
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To: Joe Brower

PING!


9 posted on 04/14/2021 4:34:44 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (GOP-free since 10/9/20)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

I don’t know about other states but in recent years, highways down here have become insane. I have a panic attack at least once a week driving to work- people drive 20-30 miles over speed limit, constantly weave in and out and don’t leave any space between vehicles. Numerous times have had people pass a corner of my vehicle with less than 6 inches between by us! I think it’s gotten even worse this past year- no one cares who they end up killing. I honestly wish they would lower the speed limit. It’s terrifying on roads here. Don’t know what answer is


10 posted on 04/14/2021 4:36:03 PM PDT by dkGba (God Bless America dkGba)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

People riding the left hand at or below the posted speed limit are causing road rage...What part of keep right pass left do we not understand?


11 posted on 04/14/2021 5:21:19 PM PDT by halfright (I want to see you antagonize Biden EXACTLY as they did Trump. LIGHT the darkness!)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Driving in and out of Orlando today I saw insanity on parade. 20-30 mph over the speed limit, following less than a car length, changing lanes without signals or adequate space between vehicles. I could go on, but you get the picture. As a retired LEO I can’t imagine how you could put enough cruisers on the road to stop the madness.


12 posted on 04/14/2021 5:25:52 PM PDT by 230FMJ (...from my cold,them to be. dead, fingers.)
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To: dkGba

If you’re in Florida, you highway speed limits are as high as 70. What makes you think anybody would obey a lower one?


13 posted on 04/15/2021 3:06:50 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (GOP-free since 10/9/20)
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To: 230FMJ

I hated commuting on I-4. Very aggressive drivers. If they don’t think you’re going fast enough for their taste, they will be 5 foot from your rear end and 2-3 foot to the left to make sure you can see them. They do this at night too to make sure their left headlight shines right into your left side view mirror.

I even commuted I-4 on a motorcycle for 6 months. That was real scary.

Every once in a while, a State Trooper will get out there and do the speed limit while swerving back and forth taking up all lanes just to slow down all traffic but they can’t do that during rush hour.

They can’t build or widen roads fast enough in Ctrl FL. Couple of decades ago it was 10,000 people per day moving into the state.


14 posted on 04/15/2021 5:37:54 AM PDT by Pollard ( )
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