Progress Continues on Reconstruction of E.E. Williamson Road Overpass
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| Crews are working on constructing a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall for a new section of the E.E. Williamson Road overpass. |
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The reconstruction of the E.E. Williamson Road bridge over Interstate 4 (I-4) is moving ahead and gaining even more momentum with the placement of beams for the first section of the new overpass.
Beam placement is a crucial step in the construction of the first part of the new overpass. Once completed, the new section of bridge will open to traffic, allowing crews to demolish the remaining older section before construction begins on the second phase of the new overpass.
The reconstruction of the E.E. Williamson Road overpass began in September 2019 and is anticipated to be completed by spring 2021.
The new E.E. Williamson Road overpass bridge will include:
- 12-foot-wide traffic lanes in both directions
- 6-foot-wide bicycle lanes on the outside of both traffic lanes
- A 6-foot-wide sidewalk on the south side
- A 10-foot-wide trail on the north side, which will improve access to the Seminole Wekiva Trail
Motorists should expect periodic, nighttime lane closures on I-4 and E.E. Williamson Road during construction. The I-4 Advanced Construction Alert System offers advance notifications about these nightly closures sent directly to your inbox or cellphone.
Sign up for advance construction alerts by entering your contact information at I4Beyond.com/alerts. Motorists can customize their alerts to receive weekly, daily or hourly notifications. Users also can filter the alerts to show only the construction activity between the two I-4 interchanges on which they travel the most.
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Eastbound I-4 Milling and Resurfacing in Seminole County Wraps Up
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| Milling and resurfacing of travel lanes on eastbound Interstate 4 (I-4) in Seminole County is complete. |
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The I-4 Beyond the Ultimate construction to mill and resurface eastbound Interstate 4 (I‑4) through much of Seminole County completed work this month.
Motorists can now enjoy approximately 5 miles of freshly paved eastbound I-4 travel lanes from Lake Mary Boulevard to County Road (C.R.) 46A and from State Road (S.R.) 46 to the Seminole-Volusia county line, along with the interchange ramps at Lake Mary Boulevard, C.R. 46A, S.R. 46 and U.S. 17-92.
The milling and resurfacing project began in fall 2019. Other active I-4 Beyond the Ultimate improvement projects in Seminole County include replacing the E.E. Williamson Road bridge and the addition of an eastbound I-4 auxiliary lane from the end of the I-4 Ultimate project near S.R. 434 to west of Lake Mary Boulevard. The E.E. Williamson Road overpass reconstruction and auxiliary lane project is anticipated to be completed in spring 2021.
A project to repave westbound I-4 between U.S. 17-92 to S.R. 46 and from C.R. 46A to Lake Mary Boulevard is set to begin construction in summer 2020.
See more information about I-4 Beyond the Ultimate work in Seminole County at: fdot.tips/Seminole.
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I-4 Beyond the Ultimate Website Earns High Honors in International Competition
For its efforts to keep motorists, residents, visitors, and businesses up to date about current and upcoming projects on Interstate 4 (I-4) in Central Florida while also providing easy-to-understand information and graphics, the I-4 Beyond the Ultimate website has earned the prestigious Award of Excellence.
Judges of the 26th Annual Communicator Awards recognized I4Beyond.com with the Award of Excellence, which is the group’s highest honor and “is given to those entrants whose ability to communicate positions them as the best in the field.”
The winners, selected from the more than 6,000 entries from around the globe, include some of the world’s best-known brands, including Amazon, ESPN Films, Macy’s, PepsiCo Design & Innovation, Forbes Media, and Savvy.
“To be included in that group of award-winners is a great honor,” said Beata Styś-Pałasz, P.E., FDOT Senior Project Manager. “But more importantly, it’s an acknowledgment of the website’s effectiveness as a communication tool that promotes safety while providing crucial information about future and current I-4 projects.”
I4Beyond.com was refreshed with a new look in 2019 to provide a user-friendly experience with improved navigation and functionality. The website includes detailed information about the I-4 Beyond the Ultimate design and interim projects. I-4 Beyond the Ultimate projects extend work on the northern and southern ends of the I-4 Ultimate reconstruction project and include about 20 miles of interstate east of the State Road (S.R.) 434 interchange and 20 miles west of the Kirkman Road (S.R. 435) interchange.
I4Beyond.com is the go-to resource to stay up to date on progress of the design process. The website provides rich online content with essential information relating to the design projects, including upcoming public meetings, plans, and milestones.
One of the main features of the website is the interactive “Project Map & Info.” Using this feature of the website, users can quickly find details for any one of the 20-plus different I-4 interchanges that make up the I-4 Beyond the Ultimate design projects.
The website also offers real-time traffic and construction detour information under the “Construction Info” tab. This part of the website is in sync with the same map on the I-4 Ultimate project website. So, the two websites display the same construction information for lane, road, and ramp closures along the I-4 corridor.
Through i4Beyond.com, users can sign up to receive project updates about the design projects. Any time news is posted to the website, subscribers receive an email with the new information. Sign up for the advance construction alerts or project updates at www.i4Beyond.com/sign-up.
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Construction Spotlight: Alex Humerez
Senior Road Inspector
Alex Humerez may be one of the few people anywhere who never says about his job, even in a good-natured grumble, “Well, back to the salt mines.”
That’s because he actually used to work in one. So, even during the hottest days while working as an inspector on the I-4 Beyond the Ultimate project, he never forgets the difference between walking out in the sunshine and fresh air of Orlando and working a half-mile underground in Ithaca, New York, where the salt air would routinely rust metal buttons and zippers on his coat.
It was hard work, but he learned a lot in the mines about safety, preparation and teamwork. And he’s still excited by the idea of increasing his knowledge every day, whether working inside, outside, underground, or above.
“The salt mine was one of my first jobs after high school in 1999, and the commute was 2,300 feet straight down and under one of New York’s Finger Lakes,” Humerez said. “I did learn something new immediately. I had grown up in the area, but I never knew the mine was there.”
That was 20 years ago. Since he was younger and excited by the adventure of it, Humerez enjoyed his year in the mine that produced rock salt for icy roads and sidewalks. Still, having spent part of his youth in Ithaca and part in Kissimmee, he was glad to head back to the warmth of Central Florida, where his wife’s family lived.
In Saint Cloud, he landed a job with Valerie Tutor & Associates, learned about construction inspection, and then moved on to AE Engineering, where he continued sharpening his knowledge about the many processes and materials that go into roadbuilding.
“You’re constantly dealing with different things in inspections – soil, asphalt, guardrails,” Humerez said. “Every job has something you haven’t seen before. You learn something new every day, and after about 15 years in construction, I’m still learning.”
As an inspector on the I-4 Beyond the Ultimate, he recently has been checking the quality of construction that goes into building an extra interstate lane for the area near the E.E. Williamson Road bridge. His job can involve inspecting embankments, soil, asphalt, and the base of a road, as well as the independent testing of materials, including concrete, asphalt, and sand.
When he’s not at work, he enjoys spending time with his family. He and his wife have two children – a daughter and a son.
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