The Central Florida Expressway Authority recently unveiled a five-year work plan, the authority's most ambitious plan financially to date.
- Central Florida Expressway Authority pours $1.6B into project
- Large portion to go into I-4 Ultimate interchange, Wekiva Parkway
- Rest will go to 40 existing miles for improvements
CFX will pour $1.6 billion into its plan. A large portion of that money is going into two projects:
- A $230 million contribution to the state to be used for the State Road 408/Interstate 4 interchange as part of the "I-4 Ultimate" project;
- and CFX's portion of the Wekiva Parkway (an extension of State Road 429)
In terms of new construction, those two projects would be the big changes. However, CFX has identified several areas along its existing system that harbor congestion, and it has plans to widening those areas. In fact, 40 existing miles will be widened along its system.
Here are a few of those areas you may be familiar with:
- S.R. 408 between Good Homes Road and Hiawassee Road (which has already begun);
- The east side east of State Road 417 up to Alafaya Trail;
- The Beachline will be widened near Orlando International Airport to alleviate congestion that has popped up since the old toll plaza was removed. It will essentially be widened east all the way to S.R. 417;
- S.R. 417 is being widened in several areas, most notably between Curry Ford Road and the Econ Trail and near International Drive to help alleviate a nasty congestion spot for travelers, which lasts all the way until John Young Parkway;
- State Road 429 is another roadway that will see work. Multiple projects will have the road widened from the Apopka area to a few miles south of Florida's Turnpike.
Some may be surprised that a potential S.R. 408 expansion to the east was not announced as part of the plan.
Although no immediate plans for that are included in the budget, it should be noted that part of that budget is for a traffic study of the area for potential expansion in the future.