Free Republic

The toll lanes for Florida’s I-4 Ultimate, a seven-year, $2.4 billion project, are now open, with 21 miles of rebuilt highway and new express lanes between Orange and Seminole counties. It is the largest road project in state history. Highlights of the project: Reconstruction of I-4 lanes and adding four new tolled I-4 Express lanes – two in each direction; Reconstruction of 15 major interchanges; Replacement of 74 bridges, widening of 13 bridges, and adding 53 new bridges. The I-4 Express lanes, the centerpiece of the project, are now open on the interstate’s center lanes and separated by concrete barriers....

After years of work, shifting lanes, blocked exits and delays, the I-4 Ultimate Construction project is finally almost done. The new system will bring new lanes and tolls, and will offer a road that should be safer and faster. Advertisement Lynden Turnquest works for Truly Nolen, and for more than six years he's weaved his way through construction, hoping for relief, but not betting on it. "Once it opens up and the construction is done it'll be like WOOHOO!!! And then it's back to traffic again," Turnquest said. But how did we get to the point where officials felt we...

A Florida woman who spent time in prison for a fatal crash years ago was traveling over 100 mph Sunday morning when she caused another terrifying wreck, killing one of her passengers and leaving two others seriously hurt, authorities said. Jennifer Carvajal, 24, was driving on Interstate 4 in Hillsborough County around 1:30 a.m. when she sped past a state trooper who clocked her three times going at 111 mph, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. As the trooper was trying to pull her over, the Tampa woman made a right turn and crashed her Hyundai Elantra into the shoulder....

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 —...

The Puerto Rican population in Central Florida returned to pre-Hurricane Maria levels, according to the latest American Community Survey, conducted yearly by the U.S. Census Bureau. The newest estimate of Puerto Ricans is roughly 385,000 in Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Lake counties, which is similar to before the Category 5 storm ravaged the island in mid-September 2017, driving many Puerto Ricans to Central Florida. UCF sociologist Fernando I. Rivera, founder of the Puerto Rico Research Hub, explained that Puerto Rico’s migration “is circular.” “Basically, the economic conditions are what really determine the population movement,” he said. “If you are going...

ORLANDO, Fla.—The state dubbed it the I-4 Ultimate for its grand scope. For some here, it’s more like the ultimate headache. A reconstruction of 21 miles of congested interstate highway through the heart of Orlando will build or rebuild 140 bridges, redesign 15 interchanges, move exits and add new toll lanes, in a $2.3 billion project to smooth traffic through one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities. Dense cities have grown up around the aging freeways, hemming them in so that expensive engineering feats are needed to do work on them. Yet work is often unavoidable. I-4, for instance, was built...

America's interstate highway system, launched more than 60 years ago, now carries far more vehicles than it was originally built for and is in dire need of repairs and improvements. The U.S. has "taken a generation off" from investing in infrastructure, says Brian Pallasch, director of government relations at the American Society of Civil Engineers. And with Americans driving more than ever before, that's leading to problems like frustration-inducing congestion and costly car repair bills. "The roadways that we drive on every day put quite a toll on our vehicles," Pallasch tells Here & Now. "The average driver ... faces...

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has a grand plan to expand I-4 well beyond the cones and lane shifts that drivers in Central Florida face today. However, those plans could be changing, in part, because of the lengthy delays of the current “I-4 Ultimate” expansion and the lack of answers being given to Congress about why it is taking so long. The I-4 Ultimate project was scheduled to be finished in 2021 with two toll lanes running in each direction down the center of the interstate from Kirkman Road south of Orlando to the Longwood rest area in Seminole...

Dive Brief: Three workers were injured Feb. 15 while working on the $2.3 billion, 21-mile I-4 Ultimate project in Orlando, Florida, the Orlando Sentinel reported. The three individuals, all reportedly employees of general contractor SGL (Skanska, Granite and Lane) Constructors, sustained minor injuries when they fell 15 feet from an elevated platform while pouring concrete. Emergency responders told WFTV 9 that the trio fell after a section of formwork gave way. SGL Constructors told WFTV that work was halted temporarily at similar platforms along the project so that they could be inspected. Construction on the I-4 project had restarted just...

Interstate 4’s overhaul will run eight months beyond a scheduled finish in early 2021 and $100 million over a $2.3 billion budget, according to a recent claim by the builder. Neither the builder, I-4 Mobility Partners, nor the state Department of Transportation previously had publicly disclosed a potential change in schedule or budget. Details first emerged from Moody’s Investors Service, with reports on I-4 Mobility’s financial footing. The state Department of Transportation issued a statement on Thursday, emphasizing that the I-4 Mobility Partners claim remains undetermined. “While the claim is being reviewed, construction activities are continuing and the contractor is...

TAMPA — Hillsborough County leaders voted Tuesday to move forward with a plan to add 90 miles of toll lanes to Tampa Bay's interstates despite continued opposition from the people whose neighborhoods would be impacted the most by the project. The Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization — a 16-person board which approves transportation projects — listened to more than 3½- hours of public comment on its Transportation Improvement Program, which lists the county's priorities for the next five years. The TIP includes dozens of projects, from road maintenance to bike paths. But the evening's debate centered around only one project:...

The motorist killed in a shooting that closed eastbound Interstate 4 in Tampa for nearly eight hours Saturday has been identified as a 47-year-old Orlando man. Fred William Turner Jr. was fatally shot while he was on a cell phone telling a 911 dispatcher someone with a gun was pursuing him, authorities said. The shooting happened around 3 p.m. and prompted authorities to close I-4 at I-75 while they examined the scene and searched for clues. The closure eventually stretched west to U.S. 301 and didn't end until nearly 11 p.m. Turner, who was driving a newer model Ford Mustang,...

POLK COUNTY -- Smoke and fog formed a deadly combination this morning along Interstate 4 near Haines City. Near-zero visibility caused a massive, deadly pile-up involving at least 50 vehicles, many of them tractor-trailers. A number of vehicles caught fire. Three people are reported dead and dozens injured. The accidents occured in the area of County Road 557. I-4, the main traffic artery between Tampa and Orlando is now shut down in both directions between the Polk County Parkway (Hwy 570) and Highway 27 in Haines City. It will likely remain closed for much of the day.