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Central Florida Drivers Get First Look At I-4 Overhaul

Engineers talk with commuters about changes coming to I-4.
Engineers talk with commuters about changes coming to I-4.

Engineers tackled questions from curious commuters Wednesday night about the 21-mile overhaul of I-4. It was the first public session giving residents the chance to pour over huge maps of the project.

Project manager Loreen Bobo was there fielding questions. She said construction will be well underway by July and drivers will start seeing signs of roadwork soon. "In the next month you're going to see barrier walls going up and we're going to start doing those lane shifts,” said Bobo, “so that we can start what I call true construction work: pile driving, drainage work, utility work, that type of thing."

Part of the I-4 makeover calls for eliminating the eastbound ramp to Ivanhoe. Resident Deborah Markward uses that ramp. She came to the public session to find out how her commute will change.

"It's kind of like the sadness when an old friend goes away and I'm wondering who my new friend is going to be,” she said. “So that's what I came here to find out, who's going to be my new friend? Where am I going to get off if I'm heading eastbound on I-4? Westbound the exit's still there."

The massive construction project is slated to take six years. Transportation officials are developing an app to help drivers navigate the road work.

The next public session is Thursday, April 2nd at the Seminole County East Library in Oviedo, FL 6:30pm - 7:30pm.