ORLANDO, Fla. – Ever since the economy bounced back and businesses started building gigantic warehouses along Boggy Creek Road in South Orange County, Boggy Creek has been bogged down -- with traffic.
Amazon is building a 2.3-million-square-foot fulfillment center in the area, and both Chrysler and Stihl have put up huge warehouses.
Both the construction and the business brings trucks - dump trucks, water trucks, equipment-carrying trucks, garbage trucks, dumpster trucks and delivery trucks, among others.
"We have a lot of truck traffic coming through here, like big rigs, they're real long and they back up," said Harry Wilkinson, manager at Ocean Blue Logistics, one of the biggest and first businesses in the area. "Big trucks with an extra-long trailer. Two or three (trucks) backs everything up."
Making matters worse, Boggy Creek Road is the only way out from the construction to the Beachline.
Drivers who take the road every day say it backs up where Boggy Creek Road turns into McCoy Road at the Beachline and blocks the intersection.
"(Drivers will) weave around, try and get around behind them, cut out in front of someone trying to get through," Wilkinson said. "People are frustrated, trying to get home, they'll take chances."
The problem stems from the left-turn arrow from Boggy Creek and McCoy Rd. onto the Beachline westbound. Drivers said the arrow is red for too long and not green for long enough. Additionally, because the left-turn lane is so short, it will accommodate only 1one truck at a time, so waiting traffic backs up under the Beachline overpass and into the intersection at Jetport Drive.
"People get so frustrated from sitting there for so long that by the time it is their turn to go, they're willing to do something stupid to get there," driver Stephen Dunn said.
But News 6 noticed many breaks in oncoming traffic, meaning drivers might be turn left onto the Beachline if they didn't have to wait for the red left-turn arrow to turn green.
So News 6 asked FDOT about changing the red arrow to a blinking yellow one.
"It would allow people to go instead of sit there, waiting for the cycle," Dunn said.
FDOT officials said they would look into it.
"Removing the left turn on green arrow only would require a traffic study to ensure that the change is safe and efficient operations," said Sara Shepherd, FDOT District 5 spokesperson. "First, we will start coordination with Orange County, who maintains the signal for the state, for any potential signal timing changes."
FDOT officials also mentioned an upcoming Central Florida Espressway Authority (CFX) project.
"This may improve overall interchange operations,; however, given that WB left-turning motorists will be crossing three lanes of opposing traffic, we would need to take that into consideration if permissive left turns could be considered in the future," Shepherd said.