Osceola County: $3 billion approved to fix chronically congested roads and highways
More than $3 billion to fix traffic congestion is on the way to Osceola County.
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One of the big projects in the works is fixing a chronically backed-up stretch of I-4 between ChampionsGate and Osceola Parkway.
A Florida Department of Transportation traffic assessment confirmed it’s slow going through that stretch of I-4 most days of the week.
The assessment found that on any given day from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m, Westbound speeds drop to 10 miles an hour, and traffic is often at a standstill.
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On Friday, Congressman Darren Soto and U.S. Department of Transportation Under Secretary Carlos Monje hosted a roundtable on the various projects underway to speed things up.
Osceola County leaders recapped their efforts to improve several county-owned roads.
Leaders said they have more than $600 million worth of projects advertised for construction. Those projects include expanding both Neptune Road and Poinciana Boulevard.
You can get a closer look at those projects here.
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One of the most expensive fixes discussed was the project that will extend the new I-4 express lanes from Orlando into Osceola County.
The $1.4 billion project had been unfunded for years, but during the last legislative session, state lawmakers gave the Florida Department of Transportation $4 billion to get started on this and 20 other projects.
That funding comes from the federal Infrastructure Law and other state funding sources.
“We’re buying right of way, we’re getting our environmental permits. All of that effort is still underway, and we’ll be moving to construction in 2024,” said FDOT District 5 Secretary John Tyler.
According to Tyler, crews will likely begin turning dirt on the new I-4 express lanes in Osceola County sometime in 2025.
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