The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) continues to add capacity to Interstate 4 (I-4) in Osceola County.

The latest step by the Department to improve mobility along the vital Central Florida corridor is the new auxiliary lane on westbound I-4 between State Road (S.R.) 429 and County Road (C.R.) 532, which opened late last month.

Another new auxiliary lane on S.R. 429 between I-4 and Sinclair Road also opened recently as part of the project, and an auxiliary lane on eastbound I-4 between the ramps of C.R. 532 and S.R. 429 opened in May.

An auxiliary lane is an extra lane connecting the entrance and exit ramps of two consecutive interchanges. The additional lane allows drivers wanting to merge onto the interstate a longer distance to do so and helps reduce bottlenecks caused by drivers attempting to enter or exit the interstate.

Over the past several years, Central Florida has attracted residents and visitors in unprecedented numbers, which has led to increased demand on state roadways. The recently opened I-4 auxiliary lane was constructed to help ease congestion that occurs as motorists merge onto westbound I-4 from S.R. 429 and exit I-4 onto C.R. 532. This new auxiliary lane gives motorists traveling on I-4 from S.R. 429 to C.R. 532 an extra lane, so they do not have to merge into the general use lanes of I-4. The combination of these improvements was designed to increase capacity and improve traffic flow in the ChampionsGate area.

Another major achievement of the project has been the successful installation of guardrail along a 1.1-mile stretch of westbound I-4, separating the I-4 general use lanes from the parallel collector-distributor (C-D) road from S.R. 417. This guardrail, completed earlier last month, was installed to improve safety by discouraging drivers from making dangerous and illegal maneuvers over the grass median in an attempt to cut across traffic.

Additional work includes milling and resurfacing eastbound and westbound I-4 from the Polk/Osceola County line to west of S.R. 417, and milling and resurfacing S.R. 429 between I-4 and Sinclair Road. Milling and resurfacing will create a smoother roadway for motorists and extend the life of the pavement. Construction began in late November 2021 and is anticipated to reach completion in early 2024.

For more information on the progress of this project of I-4 Beyond the Ultimate, visit I4beyond.com/ChampionsGate or follow us on Twitter at @i4Ultimate.