Maitland I-4 on-ramp shift backs up traffic for miles

New light, new entrance add to commute; drivers furious

MAITLAND, Fla. – "It's terrible, it sucks!" yelled one driver as she navigated the newest traffic pattern at the Maitland Boulevard / Interstate 4 interchange.

Monday morning commuters noticed that to enter westbound I-4 from westbound Maitland Boulevard, they must now turn left after waiting at a newly-installed traffic signal. When News 6 drove the new pattern, it took several traffic signal cycles to finally make the turn onto I-4.

"Easily adds 10-15 minutes," Zach said, stuck in traffic. "You know I come down I-4, it can take 20-30 minutes every time they change the pattern up."

The old pattern allowed drivers to enter westbound I-4 by turning right and looping onto the highway without waiting for a traffic signal.

"It's horrible," commuter Darren said, as he waited for the light to change. "I wish they would listen to the people complaining about the lights here. It gets backed up for 45 minutes when I'm trying to go to work. At least."

Drivers heading west on Maitland Blvd. were backed up in bumper-to-bumper traffic more than a mile from I-4 all the way to 17-92.

"It's a mess, it is a mess," said one driver, late for work. "I'm supposed to be going to work for 15 minutes, instead it takes me like 30 minutes."

An I-4 Ultimate Project spokesperson said engineers understand the frustration and are trying to manage rebuilding the entire interchange while still accommodating some 50,000 cars flowing through it.

"One of the challenges we have is maintaining traffic through this interchange," said Dave Parks, I-4 Ultimate public information officer. "We have about 50,000 vehicles that traffic through this area over Maitland Boulevard so it's a challenge in keeping those folks moving while reconstructing this interchange. You're right, it does take some patience for those drivers."​

Parks said the new pattern is here to stay until the Maitland interchange is finished in 2018, three years before the I-4 Ultimate project will be finished entirely.

"With 140-200,000 drivers, everyone is going to feel the impact of this project from now until it's complete until 2021," said Parks.

"We're doing the best we can to manage. We know that takes a lot of patience, we understand," said Parks.

Parks suggested drivers think about an alternate route.

[Rendering: Future of Maitland I-4 interchange]

But Eddis Dexter, who's lived in the same house on Wymore Road for more than half a century, said her once-quiet street, which runs alongside I-4, has become an alternate route.

"What do you say to those folks who live along some of these smaller roads who say now you're causing traffic to go by their homes where their kids are?" News 6 reporter Erik von Ancken asked FDOT.

"Again, we're doing everything we can to mitigate traffic backups by keeping the lanes open so folks still can go through," Parks said.

FDOT is rebuilding the interchange so all entrance ramps to I-4 will be free-flowing. Maitland Boulevard will be elevated and entrance ramps will loop underneath Maitland Blvd onto I-4, Parks said.

 "It's the pinch that all of Central Florida is going to feel during this project," Parks said.

"Sounds like you're saying suck it up?" von Ancken said. 

"I wouldn't go that far but I would say it's part of living and working in Central Florida, dealing with the I-4 Ultimate Project," Parks said.

Parks said engineers have been evaluating the new pattern to decide if the traffic signal cycle needs to be altered or if more signage is needed.


About the Author:

Erik von Ancken anchors and reports for News 6 and is a two-time Emmy award-winning journalist in the prestigious and coveted "On-Camera Talent" categories for both anchoring and reporting.

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