Beams Set as Progress Continues on E.E. Williamson Road Overpass

The reconstruction of the E.E. Williamson Road bridge over Interstate 4 (I-4) is entering the final phases of construction as the last beams were placed before the holidays.

During I-4 traffic pacing operations in late December, crews set beams for the second half of the new bridge. The first half of the new bridge opened to traffic during the summer. Crews began demolishing the remaining older section before beginning construction on the next 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 summer 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.

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 that will impact their area.

Quiz: Do You Know When to “Put It Down”?

You know texting while driving is dangerous. Did you also know it is against the law? Florida’s Wireless Communications While Driving Law took effect July 1, 2019, and enforcement began in 2020. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the Florida Department of Transportation launched the Put It Down: Focus on Driving campaign to raise awareness of the law by urging drivers to put their phones down and focus on driving.

Do you know when to “put it down”?

Make a Resolution to “Put It Down”

January 2021 marks one year since Florida began enforcing its ban on handheld devices in work zones and school zones — a lifesaving practice to put your phone down while driving.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, texting or messaging while driving takes drivers’ eyes off the road, their minds off their driving, and their hands off the steering wheel. The combination of these three kinds of distractions makes texting while driving particularly dangerous. In fact, distracted driving caused the death of 2,841 drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists in 2018, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Avoiding distractions in work zones is especially important. Drivers in a work zone need to stay alert to ever-changing conditions and the presence of men and women working on or near the roadway. Similarly, motorists in school zones are likely to encounter pedestrians at unexpected times.

This new year make a resolution to keep yourself, your passengers, and everyone around you safe by putting your phone down while driving, especially in school and work zones.

E.E. Williamson Road Named After Longtime Longwood City Commissioner

In September 2019, crews began to reconstruct the E.E. Williamson Road bridge over Interstate 4 (I-4) in Longwood. The overpass is being lengthened to make room for a new auxiliary lane on eastbound I-4, and the bridge is also being widened for the addition of new bike lanes and an accommodation for the Seminole Wekiva Trail.

The new and improved bridge is anticipated to be complete in summer 2021.

A look to the future of the E.E. Williamson Road bridge warrants a look to the past of E.E. Williamson, the man.

Eldon Elyet Williamson was born on July 26, 1898, in Cairo, Georgia. He moved to Longwood in the late 1930s. He was quoted by the Orlando Sentinel as saying that the only hard-surfaced road in Longwood when he moved to town was State Road (S.R.) 427.

Williamson was a Longwood City Commissioner for almost 20 years from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, a time of rapid growth and development for the city. He also worked as a night manager at the Super Value Market on S.R. 436.

He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Longwood, and he loved to go fishing at New Smyrna Beach with his wife, Lula.

Williamson died on May 6, 1974, at the age of 75. He was laid to rest at Longwood Memorial Gardens.

The east-west road that crosses I-4 and connects Markham Woods Road to Rangeline Road and Lake Emma Road honors E.E. Williamson’s legacy of leadership in changing times.

While Mr. Williamson might not recognize much of his adopted hometown today, one constant he would recognize is the change. Longwood continues to grow and develop, as it did in his lifetime, reshaping and expanding the road that bears his name.