MAITLAND, Fla. – The Big Drive is bringing new changes for drivers in Maitland, and a new traffic shift will be in effect through the weekend.
As anyone who lives in or travels through Maitland knows, the area of Maitland Boulevard near the I-4 ramps is a busy intersection that has already felt the impact of the Big Drive.
If your weekend plans involve Maitland Boulevard between North Lake Destiny Road and Wymore Road, be ready to follow a modified traffic pattern.
“Maitland Boulevard South and eastbound traffic will be shifting,” said I-4 ultimate public information officer, David Parks. “There will be a new ramp there that drivers need to use.”
Starting Friday night, the Department of Transportation will temporarily close the westbound I-4 entrance ramp from eastbound Maitland Boulevard. The closure to accommodate drainage work will go into effect at 8 p.m. and will stay in place until 6 a.m. Monday.
There will be a detour. Drivers should allow a couple of extra minutes to get around it.
Follow signs and travel east over I-4 and take the exit ramp on the right to Sandspur Road. Turn right at the stop sign onto Sandspur Road, then a right onto Wymore at the traffic light.
At the next light make another right onto Hope Road, which will connect you to the boulevard westbound. The detour ends at the westbound entrance to the interstate.
There will also be a long-term pattern relocating the eastbound lanes by Lake Destiny Drive. Lanes will shift to the south of their current location. Drivers will have to decide to either continue east on Maitland Boulevard. or use the westbound I-4 entrance ramp before Lake Destiny, using the two right-hand lanes.
“The westbound entrance to Maitland Boulevard will be the permanent alignment,” said Parks. “Although there is still some work at that ramp that will need to be done at some point a little later on in the job.”
This work will eventually lighten the congestion in the area.