SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — The I-4 Express lanes have caused an unintended problem where they begin and end.

Backups have formed on I-4 West in Seminole County before the entrance to the express lanes near the Longwood rest stops.

What You Need To Know

  • Backups form where the I-4 Express lanes end in northern Seminole County

  • Driver Wanda Chandler said she wants the toll lanes to be extended

  • FDOT does plan to add express lanes to northern Seminole and southern Volusia counties

  • More Traffic Inbox reports

“We wait 10, 15, 20 minutes to get to Longwood, to get on (the express lanes), so you have to wait in traffic just to pay to go fast,” Wanda Chandler said.

Chandler drives from her home in Sanford to her job in downtown Orlando four days a week.

She said backups also form on I-4 East after the express lanes end.

“It would be nice to have the express lanes go all the way across the river,” Chandler said.

Chandler wants to know why the toll lanes don’t go all the way up to the St. Johns River Bridge in Volusia County.

So we asked the Florida Department of Transportation.

Spokesperson David Parks said long term FDOT plans to include express lanes in northern Seminole and southern Volusia counties as a part of I-4 Beyond the Ultimate, but that's years away.

In the meantime, Parks said the completion of the Wekiva Parkway next year will provide drivers another route around I-4 congestion.

“The last section of the Wekiva Parkway, Section 8, is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2023,” Parks said. “This highly anticipated connection to I-4 and State Road 417 in Seminole County will complete the beltway around Central Florida, giving motorists even more choices. Construction is also underway on a 12-mile extension of the SunRail passenger system from DeBary to DeLand. The department is eager to realize these transportation investments that increase safe and reliable options for residents and visitors.”

Chandler said she hopes the work to add express lanes in northern Seminole and southern Volusia counties can be done sooner rather than later.

“I think that would help — anything they can do to make this better,” she said.

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