Federal transportation officials have awarded the Florida Department of Transportation $85 million to widen Interstate 4 north of Orlando, with one added general-use lane each way across roughly 20 miles of Seminole and Volusia counties.
The grant covers the interstate from State Road 434 northeast to State Road 472. The award was announced Oct. 1 as one of 12 awards in 12 states that together total $426 million, all paid through the federal INFRA grant program, formally the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects program.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said the Florida work is intended to add room for freight and ease a congested choke point on the corridor.
"America's infrastructure is rated a C," said Sean Duffy, the U.S. transportation secretary, in a written statement issued with the awards. He said the administration "is committed to making our supply chains resilient."
Where Winter Springs fits
The southern end of the project is the I-4 interchange with State Road 434, which the state transportation department places in Longwood. SR 434 is the same highway that carries Winter Springs City Hall's address, 1126 East State Road 434.
No start or finish date has been announced. WKMG News 6 reported that it had put scheduling questions to FDOT and that it was not yet clear what the work would mean for the I-4 bridge over the St. Johns River.
How it relates to FDOT's longer plan
The state has for years planned a larger rebuild of this part of I-4 under its I-4 Beyond the Ultimate program. That plan's Segment 3 runs from just east of the SR 434 interchange to U.S. 17-92, where Seminole County meets Volusia County.
