ORLANDO, Fla. — The city of Orlando is bracing for a significant interruption in rush-hour traffic when President Donald Trump visits the Amway Center for an evening event Tuesday.

Trump will be in Orlando on Tuesday and is widely expected to officially kick off his run for re-election. Thousands are expected to attend the event at the venue, which seats 20,000.

“I am looking to the rally, looking so forward to this,” said Trump supporter Chad Lund, who has the benefit of living downtown.

"I get to walk a 12-minute walk or so," Lund said. "It’s going to be worth it."

Ahead of the event, the city is reminding residents and commuters to build in time for delays due to road closures and congestion.

"We’ve got to do as much as possible to educate the people coming in outside the area aware outside the area of what to expect coming into the city," said Billy Hattaway, Orlando's director of transportation. "It'll be more like moving all the attendees of Camping World (Stadium) to downtown, into downtown, which is a more compact area."

The city of Orlando police, fire, and transportation officials say they are ready for the large crowds.

It is supposed to be a hot and rainy day Tuesday, and the Orlando Fire Department is asking people to prepare for those conditions.

Orlando Police say they will have their usual number of officers to cover an Amway event — in addition to officers who specialize in crowd control.

"The planning goes into weeks," Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón said Monday. "The planning continues today, it will continue tonight, it will probably continue tomorrow, and it’s like a living document, it keeps being modified as we go."

Orlando International Airport

Orlando International Airport officials on Monday asked travelers to allow for extra travel time inside and around the airport from the early afternoon through the evening. Roads around the airport could also be affected.

"We anticipate minimum interruption to airport operations as a result of Tuesday's activities," airport officials said in a news release.

Roads

By Sunday afternoon, a "road closed" sign and barricades were already up along Church Street from Hughey Avenue to Division Avenue in preparation for the presidential visit. As early as last week, an electronic sign on northbound South Street said the road would be closed Tuesday and to "expect delays."

The city said last Friday that it's likely that most of the roads surrounding the Amway Center — including Church Street, South Street, Pine Street, Hughey Avenue, and Division Avenue — will begin closing at 9 a.m. Tuesday or earlier.

Additional road closures will be implemented at about 2 p.m. Tuesday, including the westbound Interstate 4 on-ramp from South Street, city transportation officials said, and other road closures could also be implemented as needed.

Note that Church Street from Hughey to Division will close to traffic by 4 p.m. Sunday.

Some roads will also be closed to pedestrian traffic. The roads that will close to pedestrian traffic by 9 a.m. Tuesday are: Church Street from Garland Avenue; Pine Street from Garland Avenue; and Hughey Avenue between Central and South.

All pedestrians attending the event must use Central Boulevard to Division Avenue.

Parking

City officials say parking downtown will be "extremely limited," so event "attendees are encouraged to plan ahead." City-owned garages will be open, but only on a first-come, first-served basis.

"We're actively working on a traffic management plan in terms of transportation of motor vehicles, pedestrians, and parking. So all three of those activities are going to be heavily impacted by the number of people coming in not just from the city, but probably the country as well," Hattaway said.

Select parking lots have been made available around Camping World Stadium with a free shuttle to Amway Center on Tuesday.

SunRail

For those headed in or out of downtown, transportation officials said Friday that SunRail service is being extended Tuesday evening beyond 10 p.m., though service after that time will depart downtown and be drop-off only to other stations.

Normal SunRail service will run through 10 p.m. After that, the commuter rail system will run three northbound and three southbound trains that will depart from Church Street Station, the Florida Department of Transportation said. After leaving Church Street, trains will be drop-off only to other stations and will not pick up additional passengers along the way.

  • Northbound Church Street Station Platform (north of South Street): 10:15 p.m., 10:30 p.m., 10:45 p.m. — station stops at: Lynx Central station, AdventHealth, Winter Park, Maitland, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Lake Mary, Sanford, DeBary.
  • Southbound Church Street Station Platform (south of South Street): 10 p.m., 10:15 p.m., 10:45 p.m. — station stops at: Orlando Health/Amtrak, Sand Lake Road, Meadow Woods, Tupperware, Kissimmee/Amtrak, Poinciana.

Buses

Lynx and Lymmo bus service will run on normal schedules, though riders should be prepared for detours and delays due to the closed roads.

 

Downtown Orlando Shuttle

Downtown Orlando Parking Garages