As work begins on the Beyond the I-4 Ultimate project, motorists will see an increasing amount of construction activity on Interstate 4 (I-4) in Seminole County.

The efforts, which will improve mobility and safety on I-4, range from milling and resurfacing sections of the roadway to completely replacing a bridge that crosses the interstate.

Each project will improve safety and traffic flow. A quick overview of these interim projects includes:

• Replacing E.E. Williamson Road bridge with a wider overpass that allows for more room for pedestrians and bicyclists.
• Adding an auxiliary lane running beneath the new E.E. Williamson Road that will stretch from the end of the I‑4 Ultimate Project near State Road (S.R.) 434 to west of Lake Mary Boulevard. The lane will accommodate traffic coming from the new managed lanes currently under construction on I‑4 Ultimate.
• Milling and resurfacing of the westbound Interstate 4 (I-4) travel lanes between the Seminole-Volusia county line to S.R. 46 and from County Road (C.R.) 46A to Lake Mary Boulevard. The work will extend the life of the pavement.

Additionally, two projects have already been completed as of May 2020:

• Realigning the eastbound I-4 exit ramp to Lake Mary Boulevard and eliminating a concrete island to increase mobility.
• Milling and resurfacing of the eastbound Interstate 4 (I-4) travel lanes between Lake Mary Boulevard and County Road (C.R.) 46A and from S.R. 46 to the Seminole-Volusia county line. The work will extend the life of the pavement.

To receive updates on construction activity, check the interactive construction alerts map or sign up for newsletters and customizable alerts at https://i4beyond.com/signup/.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is reconstructing the E.E. Williamson Road overpass bridge on Interstate 4 (I-4) just north of the State Road 434 interchange. 

The new E.E. Williamson Road overpass bridge will include:

• Wider eastbound and westbound traffic lanes
• Six-foot bicycle lanes on the outside of both traffic lanes
• Six-foot wide sidewalk on the eastbound side
• 10-foot wide pedestrian trail on the westbound side that will extend another 1.2 miles east to Lake Emma Road

The rebuilt bridge will improve access to the Seminole Wekiva Trail for residents on the east side of I-4 who use E.E. Williamson Road to reach the trail entrance one-tenth of a mile west of the overpass bridge.  

To receive updates on construction activity, check the interactive construction alerts map or sign up for newsletters and customizable alerts at https://i4beyond.com/signup/.

The E.E. Williamson Road bridge over Interstate 4 (I-4) will remain open to trucks, cars, bicyclists, and pedestrians during its complete reconstruction, which will create a brand-new structure more than 25 feet wider than the existing bridge.

Work is scheduled to start in September 2019. The project is anticipated to be complete in spring 2021. (Schedule subject to change, as construction progress, roadway conditions, and weather may require schedule adjustments.)

The new bridge is designed with support piers at different intervals to accommodate a new auxiliary lane on I-4 and up to 12 lanes of interstate for future expansions to improve safety and mobility. The new bridge also will have wider lanes for vehicles and separate lanes for bikes and separate sidewalks for pedestrians.

To minimize disruption, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has created a construction plan that allows workers to alternate between building portions of the new bridge while tearing down parts of the existing structure as they become unneeded. To create a safe workspace, the existing lanes will be slightly narrowed when they are shifted away from the portions under construction. In the end, a completely new, wider, pedestrian-friendly bridge will emerge.

Plans call for the two-lane bridge to keep both lanes and a sidewalk open during the day – starting before the morning rush hour and extending into the early evening. To keep work progressing, plans allow for overnight single lane closures from 8 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. At all times during construction, driveway and property access will be maintained.

To ensure safety, the bridge will have maintenance of traffic (MOT) workers to control the flow of vehicles across the bridge at night. Those MOT plans as well as many other structural and material matters are reviewed and monitored for FDOT by WSP USA, a private engineering-services company. The construction contractor is Hubbard Construction Company.

In very general terms, the construction will follow this schedule:

• September 2019 – Work begins with a focus on building new lanes adjacent to the south side of the current bridge.
• April 2020 – With a newly built lane in place, work continues to prepare the median area as a temporary traffic lane, so workers can remove portions of the existing bridge that are no longer needed.
• June 2020 – After removing the northern half of the current bridge, work will focus on building its upgraded replacement.
• October 2020 – All vehicular, bicyclist and pedestrian lanes should be in place and open.
• January 2021 – Final details completed.