Local

FDOT opens new Interstate 4 exit ramp onto Maitland Boulevard

MAITLAND, Fla. — Drivers who travel on Interstate 4 in Maitland might notice changes to traffic patterns during their morning commute Friday.

The Florida Department of Transportation opened a new exit westbound I-4 exit ramp onto westbound Maitland Boulevard.

After exiting, drivers will need to decide sooner whether to stay left for westbound Maitland Boulevard or to stay right for northbound Lake Destiny Road.

"It's about 1,700 feet sooner, so it's going to come up pretty quickly after you exit westbound I-4," FDOT spokeswoman Jessica Ottaviano said. "It's important to stay alert and be aware."

Drivers who remain on Maitland Boulevard will approach a stoplight at the end of the ramp, but that will eventually change.

"Westbound Maitland Boulevard will eventually be elevated with no traffic signals," Ottaviano said. "So motorists (who) head that way will eventually have no traffic signal to encounter once they get off that ramp."

FDOT said the exit will be further altered in the fall.

"This is putting an end to more of a permanent configuration," Ottaviano said. "And what it sets it up for is allowing both of those directions to eventually be free flowing."

Drivers are asked to be alert while traveling through the area.