ORLANDO, Fla. – A new report ranks Orlando one of the top cities in the nation for traffic, with drivers losing many hours a year and spending hundreds annually sitting in gridlock.
One stretch of Interstate 4 is among the busiest corridors in the country, and even with billions in improvements underway, relief may still be years away.
“It seems like you always find bumper-to-bumper traffic here on I-4, and there’s a lot of congestion. That’s why FDOT has several projects underway, and they say they could be wrapping up in 2031,” one reporter said.
Peter Shepard, a Polk County resident, said congestion has made traveling on I-4 difficult.
“It’s bad. Real bad. It’s not a good way to travel,” he said.
For drivers like Shepard, I-4 has been a daily frustration for years.
“It’s so many people here — so many people traveling, so many tourists. You know, different driving styles, different ways of driving,” Shepard said.
New data from INRIX shows Orlando drivers lose 32 hours a year to traffic, up four hours from last year. The city is ranked 37th out of 300 metro areas in the U.S., which is one spot higher than last year.
The report also found the stretch from the eastbound Anderson Expressway to World Drive ranks fourth among the busiest corridors in the country.
Amy Bonilla, an Uber driver, said the ranking matches what she sees on the road.
“Especially Champions Gate. It can get nasty,” Bonilla said.
FDOT says relief is coming through a multibillion-dollar overhaul that includes adding express lanes, rebuilding interchanges and widening the roadway, with completion targeted for 2031.
“FDOT says all this construction is set to be completed by 2031, but many people find that hard to believe,” the reporter said.
“Oh. Long time. That’s a long time. That’s a long time,” Shepard said.
Another driver said the timeline is too long.
“I think that’s an extended plan ... and it takes too long. We need a plan now that works for now, because what they’re currently doing — the congestion has been so bad,” the driver said.
The INRIX report also found gridlock costs about $589 per driver annually, up more than $100.