FDOT details fast-tracked I-4 improvements

  • Osceola County is in the middle of the state’s Moving Florida Forward initiative to fast-track funding to make improvements on Interstate 4 through the county. GRAPHIC/FDOT
    Osceola County is in the middle of the state’s Moving Florida Forward initiative to fast-track funding to make improvements on Interstate 4 through the county. GRAPHIC/FDOT

Interstate 4 through northwest Osceola County—a way home for some people, a connection of Polk to Orange County for others—is set for a “congestion relief project” as the Florida Department of Transportation is calling it.

At the recent Industry Forum for the construction and engineering industries, FDOT featured a series of upgrades and smaller projects that will stitch together a 14-mile total upgrade from the Kirkman Road interchange in Orlando to the U.S. 27 interchange in Davenport.

In between, the Poinciana Connector, which will connect a northern extension of Poinciana Parkway to State Road 429 at I-4, is part of the “Moving Florida Forward” initiative that Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to prioritize with billions in transportation funding.

Industry partners were given a firsthand look at technical details of these projects, including a presentation on the program scope, the individual projects, project features, procurement timelines, and procurement processes.

Project plans include a major overhaul to I-4 and also include new tolled Express Lanes in the median of I-4 and the development of the Poinciana Connector.

State officials say by expediting moving for the Moving Florida Forward Infrastructure Initiative programs, they’ve been advanced 10-15 years sooner—and the sooner, the better, for drivers who travel I-4 East out of Polk County and see daily backups at anytime from before U.S. 27, past the ChampionsGate interchange at County Road 532 and through State Road 429.

“Once completed, this series of projects and the ones currently underway not only provide regional congestion relief, but also modernizes outdated infrastructure and provides additional travel choices on this critical interstate corridor,” an FDOT release that described the industry forumFDOT said it plans to also share information and meet with community partners and other stakeholders along these project corridors.