Chickasaw Trail ramp construction nearly complete

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Traffic will soon move more smoothly in one part of East Orange County.

On Jan. 14, the Chickasaw Trail ramps on the 408 Expressway will be opened to drivers headed to Waterford Lakes and the University of Central Florida.

"During the day, it's pretty rough," said driver Ray Dawson.

The new ramp at Chickasaw Trail is expected to speed up traffic at both Goldenrod Road and Lake Underhill Road.

The ramps are nearly ready for cars to drive on, other than a few finishing touches, but construction crews said the biggest challenge will be the weather.

Mohammad Merchant said he hopes the construction wraps up as scheduled, because for the past couple of months traffic has been cutting into his business.

Merchant said he's lost 40 percent of his customer base.

"They don't want to stop, but with the lesser traffic maybe they have time to turn in and all that, so it's going to help," Merchant said.

The expressway authority said the project was delayed a bit, because some material needed for construction was manufactured in an area affected by Hurricane Sandy.

WFTV