Interstate 4 widening construction under way in Volusia Co.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A major road project that will affect thousands of people who drive on Interstate 4 is just now starting to get under way in Volusia County.

The state is widening I-4 from four to six lanes from DeLand to Daytona Beach.

And WFTV learned other improvements are also coming, like overhead digital displays to alert drivers of traffic.

In the next six months, I-4 will be uprooted and a mess. In the next year, it will only get worse, and drivers WFTV talked to aren't excited about it.

"I know more people are moving to Florida, but I think we're fine the way we are. I don't think they need to be widening it at all. I don't think they need to add two more lanes," said Volusia County resident Yolanda Sandoval.

It's not bumper-to-bumper traffic along the stretch of I-4 from DeLand to Daytona Beach, and drivers may see an occasional deer or turkey on the side of the road. But the Florida Department of Transportation expects an increase of 10,000 cars a day in the next 10 years.

"You might be in what many may consider the middle of nowhere, but it does carry a lot of traffic, and we project some growth along the way," said Steve Olson, an FDOT spokesman.

Along the 14 mile stretch, FDOT plans to close the westbound lanes. It plans to widen the eastbound lanes, where drivers will commute during the first phase of construction.

"We're going to put a barrier wall in the middle, and we're going to expand it out with some temporary lanes in the middle, and we'll have two lanes of traffic in each direction," said Olson.

The overall cost of the project is $134 million. The heavy cost, officials said, will go toward a road that will last generations.

Construction is expected to take three years, and there will be more changes in traffic patterns along the way.

However, drivers will see the same 70 mph speed limit.

FDOT is also planning on improving the U.S. 1-92 exit off I-4. The current exit to the left will change to a right exit.

WFTV