Lane closures began Monday night as crews crank up work on the I-4 Ultimate Improvement Project in Orange County.

The project officially began in February, but the upcoming work will be the first time drivers will be impacted.

Lane closures were expected to begin Sunday night, but the Florida Department of Transportation said they had to delay the work until Monday because of heavy rainfall.

Workers will be putting up crash cushions along I-4, from Kennedy Boulevard to Maitland Boulevard. That will happen overnight, from 9:30 p.m. to 7 a.m.

One eastbound lane of I-4 will be closed through Wednesday night. Crews will also be removing dirt, which will force that eastbound lane to be closed until May 22.

The Maitland Boulevard on-ramp to eastbound I-4 will also be closed until May 22.

Some motorists said they are excited for what the finished project will look like, but they are dreading the construction that it will take to complete the process.

"It's going to be a nightmare during the construction," said Nick Starks, from Longwood. "Having the finished project will be nice, but it will probably be a nightmare between now and then."

Steven Chusmir, from Sanford, echoed that sentiment. As a salesman, constantly on the road, he said he tries to avoid I-4 whenever possible and takes alternate routes.

"The traffic is horrendous and I certainly don’t want to use it once they start putting the barricades up and start the construction," said Chusmir. "It’s just going to add another 45 minutes to an hour of my travel time.”

Road closures are one of the first big steps in the $2.3 billion improvement project, which is expected to be completed by 2021.

The plan is to close lanes overnight, but FDOT said that could change.

"There might come a time where a closure would have to happen during the day, but we certainly don't want that to happen during the teeth of rush hour traffic," said Steve Olson from the Florida Department of Transportation. "That would just be really tough."

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I-4 Ultimate Improvement Project

  • Construction Length: 21.11 miles
    • From west of Kirkman Road to east of SR-434
  • Construction Cost: About $2.1 billion
    • 43% from state, the rest from private investors
  • Bridges: 56 new (including pedestrian crossing)
    • 68 replacements
    • 13 modifications
  • Interchanges: 15 major reconstructions
  • Pedestrian crossings: 1 new (Maitland Blvd.)

Source: Moving-4-Ward