New I-4 congestion relief lanes open between Haines City and Celebration

FOX 13's Carla Bayron reports.

CELEBRATION, Fla. - The commute on I-4 between Haines City and Celebration should be faster and smoother for drivers now that congestion-relief lanes are open.

Big picture view:

One of the most congested sections of I-4 is between Highway 27 in Polk County and World Drive in Osceola County. According to state transportation officials, more than 140,000 people travel the six-mile stretch on a daily basis.

PREVIOUS: FDOT accelerates I-4 plan to ease congestion between Disney World, ChampionsGate

Now an additional eastbound and westbound lane should cut congestion time in half.

Local perspective:

"There's always so much traffic all the time," said Claire Ross, a resident of Central Florida. "I would say it probably cut down the drive by like 30 minutes, because before it used it take two hours to get from Tampa to Orlando, but now it's about an hour and 30 minutes, which is definitely a big difference for sure."

Dig deeper:

The Florida Department of Transportation project is eight months ahead of schedule, because it was accelerated through the Moving Florida Forward Initiative.

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"With the new modified phase design built process, we have in place and that's a process that hasn't been seen before when it comes to construction, so for us, we knew this was a priority for drivers in the area, so we could get this completed as fast as possible," said Matthew Richardson, the director of communications of FDOT's Moving I-4 Forward.

Not only will these lanes improve drive time, but safety as well, as I-4 is considered to be the most dangerous interstate in Florida.

"There's always some sort of backed-up traffic, because there's an accident blocking a few lanes, so opening up a few lanes helps that for sure," said Ross.

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What's next:

This relief comes at a good time as traffic is expected to increase as attractions grow throughout the Central Florida region.

The next step for the moving I-4 Forward Program is bringing improvements to the Champions Gate Interchange and World Drive Interchange, including widening the bridge area and adding express lanes.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered using details from a Central Florida resident and the director of communications with FDOT's Moving I-4 Forward.

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