$2 billion I-4 project renderings

[thelakelander]

Here are a few renderings of the $2.1 billion, 21-mile widening of I-4 through Orlando. Any reason why we can't see renderings of what it looks like on the ground level and what it looks like driving or walking under it?







more renderings and information: http://www.moving-4-ward.com/about-the-project/renderings/

[thelakelander]

Btw, I noticed there is a new ped/bike overpass in the last rendering, just south of Maitland Boulevard interchange.  This is what I was saying could easily be added to the 95/JTB interchange to allow multimodal access and connectivity on either side of I-95 in Southpoint.

[Tacachale]

Good God. Orlando's bad enough as it is. Sometimes I wonder what Ol' Walt would think about his effect on the place.

[jcjohnpaint]

starting to look like the 405 in LA

[Lunican]

Strange that the Orlando Tea Party never mentioned this.

[tufsu1]

wait...lunican, you're not excited about this?

don't worry about the Tea Party...they probably think the tolls will pay for building (and not just operating) the extra lanes.

speaking of tolls, the north part will cost roughly $6 each way in the peak hours...so a regular commuter could easily spend $60 A WEEK for the priviledge of using the express lanes!

[tufsu1]

Btw, I noticed there is a new ped/bike overpass in the last rendering, just south of Maitland Boulevard interchange.  This is what I was saying could easily be added to the 95/JTB interchange to allow multimodal access and connectivity on either side of I-95 in Southpoint.

good point...btw, I noticed a few weeks ago that there is a pedestrian tunnel under I-10 just west of the McDuff interchange...connecting Day Avenue

[fsujax]

^^it was put there so children could still access Lackawana Elementary School.

[Jason]

All of this on the heels of launching SunRail.  You'd think that the commuter system would at least postpone the need for a widening project this massive through the core.

[spuwho]

All of this on the heels of launching SunRail.  You'd think that the commuter system would at least postpone the need for a widening project this massive through the core.

Just the opposite....they want people to divert to commuter rail during the project. And want them to stick afterward.

The road is in bad shape in certain places and has many legacy features that need remediation and are unsafe (especially north of Ivanhoe), so doing a reconstruction is a must regardless of SunRail.

[Ocklawaha]

^^it was put there so children could still access Lackawana Elementary School.

Did they drill this under an active interstate or did they use a cut and cover construction?  Anybody know?

[thelakelander]

It was designed that way.  It's been there for decades.

[spuwho]

I just finished driving around the greater Orlando area this week since I read this article and noticed the following:

- I-4 in and around the city center is in bad shape. It's all legacy pavement and really needs a replacement. They just finished a sectional rebar fix, similar to what FDOT just finished in I-95 south of University. That has to last them until this gig comes along.

- Pointless Tollroad. I drove Osceola Parkway and paid $1.75 in tolls each way. While I drove it, the thought occurred to me that this was exactly what an Outer Beltway Tollroad would look like. As far as I can tell, most of the money went into the bridge and environmental studies to get across a 1/2 mile wide swamp. A big sign saying "Headwaters of the Everglades" must be to appease the Sierra Club. The rest of the road didn't even look like it met NHA minimum standards. The bridge had the same concrete issue the JTB-Intercoastal bridge has.

- Disney Logjams. The mad rush of rental cars, family trucksters from Kansas, RV's from Canada, shuttle buses and vans all trying to get from the Disney Properties to International Drive where the hotels are. The traffic on I-4 between Apopka-Vineland to Sand Lake at dinner time is a joke. Everyone is all glowing with transportation projects in and out of OIA. Bah! They need a serious people mover between the International Drive hotel district and the Disney complex. Watching some poor chap from England trying to drive his rental Dodge Avenger on the wrong side of the road (to him) in this craziness, and to think there are thousands of foreign tourists braving this every day? The tax revenue off rentals is staggering, so this will make that a hard nipple to wean off of.

[Jaxson]

I still believe that the Interstate system should have created a direct route between Jacksonville and Tampa...

[Charles Hunter]

I still believe that the Interstate system should have created a direct route between Jacksonville and Tampa...

The Florida DOT looked at this several years ago, and was stopped by money and environmental issues.  Seems they are looking at it again: http://www.flfuturecorridors.org/tampa_about.htm