ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Interstate 4 is the gateway between Central Florida's theme parks and Orlando International Airport, and now changes are coming to its interchange with State Road 528.

What You Need To Know

  • The Florida Department of Transportation is building an extra lane on the I-4 West exit ramp to State Road 528

  • FDOT officials say the extra lane will take traffic off I-4 more quickly

  • The project is set to be completed in 2026

  • FDOT is making other changes to other I-4 interchanges in attractions area

Real estate photographers Alex Escobar and Mohsin Manji say I-4 traffic can make a big impact on their drive to jobs.

“(I-4 congestion) does tend to slow us down," Escobar said. "But, I mean, we do what we can to work around it  — (we) leave a little earlier when need to, just kind of give our clients a heads up that there may be a delay.”

For Escobar, going to his Williamsburg home from work requires him to take the I-4 West exit to State Road 528.

“With this (ramp) only being one lane, it was already backed up to begin with,” he said. “Now that they’re adding construction to it, it’s even more backed up.”

That construction, while causing slowdowns now, is meant to help in the long term, Florida Department of Transportation spokesperson Tim Freed said.

“There’s a lot of backup, especially during rush hour. So with this project we are widening the ramp, which is going to add capacity to that ramp,” Freed said. “And that’s going to allow for a higher volume of traffic to be moved off of I-4 more quickly, and that’s going to promote traffic efficiency.”

The interchange is a hub for visitors going from the theme parks, International Drive attractions, hotels and the airport. The $20 million project will add a second lane from I-4 West to Stat Road 528.

“I think it’s needed. That’s definitely needed because once you hop onto 528, there’s no traffic," Escobar said. "It’s only the merging part right here.”

As part of I-4 Beyond the Ultimate, FDOT is also rebuilding I-4 interchanges at Sand Lake Road and State Road 535, building a new interchange at Daryl Carter Parkway, and in between, it's adding an extra lane of westbound I-4 Express.

“The infrastructure really helps us maximize how many appointments we can get to in an efficient manner, which then allows us to grow and then provide more service to more clients on a daily basis,” Manji said.