Westbound I-4 Ramps Resurfacing Completed in Seminole County

Motorists in in Seminole County will notice a smoother drive this month on westbound Interstate 4 (I-4) ramps at U.S. 17-92, State Road (S.R.) 46, County Road (C.R.) 46A, and Lake Mary Boulevard.

As part of the I-4 Beyond the Ultimate interim project to mill and resurface westbound I-4 from U.S. 17-92 to S.R. 46 and from C.R. 46A to Lake Mary Boulevard, the resurfacing of entrance and exit ramps at the above interchanges was completed in November.

Work to mill and resurface westbound I-4 in Seminole County began in the summer of 2020. Crews returned to milling and resurfacing on the westbound I-4 mainline this month following the completion of work on the ramps. This project is anticipated to be completed in early 2021.

Other ongoing I-4 Beyond the Ultimate interim work in Seminole County includes the reconstruction and widening of the E.E. Williamson Road bridge over I-4, and the addition of an auxiliary lane to eastbound I-4 from the end of the I-4 Ultimate project to west of Lake Mary Boulevard.

The reconstruction of the E.E. Williamson Road overpass and construction of the eastbound I-4 auxiliary lane began in September 2019 and are anticipated to be completed by fall 2021.

Milling and resurfacing of eastbound I-4 from Lake Mary Boulevard to C.R. 46A and from S.R. 46 to the Seminole-Volusia county line was completed in summer 2020. Both directions of I-4 between C.R. 46A and S.R. 46 will be repaved as part of the Wekiva Parkway Section 8 extension, which began construction in the fall of 2019.

For more information about I-4 Beyond the Ultimate work in Seminole County, please visit I4Beyond.com/Seminole, and stay up to date on I-4 construction in your area by signing up for advance construction alerts.

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Beyond the Ultimate Spotlight: Isis Lopez
Contract Support Specialist

Isis Lopez believes in setting goals, making plans and then being a stickler for the smallest detail along the way, until the goal is met or the job is done.

In other words, she’s just the sort of dogged person needed to make sure all i’s are dotted and t’s crossed in compliance reports that are part of the vital, behind-the-scenes work on the I-4 Beyond the Ultimate project.

Lopez helps ensure those reports about quality and quantity of work are correctly filled out before being officially certified. Whether she is checking on tons of asphalt spread, or numbers of dollars spent on payroll, or types of inspections completed, she enjoys the work.

“I love organizing,” Lopez said. “I love tracking down the numbers and being a stickler – in the nicest way possible.”

So how does one nitpick nicely? “I nag in a very kind way,” she said. “With smiley faces.”

Though focused, she realizes that she still may miss something occasionally. If tired eyes see a 1 instead of a 7, she figures out what happened, then adds it to her own list of areas to double-check next time. Sometimes, she even creates small programs for spreadsheets to automatically check and compare.

“I’m always still learning and will keep learning,” Lopez said. She even goes out to worksites sometime to better understand what those checkboxes and numbers really mean. “I like to see it in the field – in real life – to understand what they’re doing.” Such knowledge is especially useful when reviewing reports related to construction, engineering, and inspections in her job at Newkirk Engineering.

Born and raised in the Miami area, Lopez later moved to Central Florida, graduating from Winter Park High School. She worked her way through high school and college with the goal of earning and saving enough money to buy a home at 21 – one of her best accomplishments. “I’m very goal-oriented. But it’s only doable by keeping my eye on the ball.”

In her spare time, Lopez likes hiking, kayaking, and home improvement projects such as tiling and landscaping. Her father worked as a specialty carpenter, and Lopez thinks she inherited some of his skills.

She also got her first name courtesy of her dad, who was born in Honduras and so loved ancient Egyptian history and mythology that he named his daughter for one of those famous figures of antiquity.