Construction on I-4 ramps in Osceola County delayed again

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Drivers in Osceola County will be stuck with detours longer than expected after a $10 million construction project has been delayed again.

Work on new ramps on Interstate 4 between US-192 and the Osceola Parkway started about a year and a half ago and was supposed to have wrapped up already, but the detours remain.

Channel 9's Racquel Asa found workers now have to rip up a section of the project they already finished.

Steven Trowsdale has been watching the construction in Celebration ever since the detour signs popped up, but he and other drivers are going to have to wait until the end of the year for the work to be finished.

"Because it's been going on such a long time, you almost forget that it's there," he said.

Most of the time, rainfall prevents projects from finishing on time, but when Asa asked the state Department of Transportation if Mother Nature prolonged the project, a spokesperson said the delay was from how some of the concrete settled at the new overpass.

A 30-by-50-foot section of concrete cracked, compromising the bridge's stability, so it had to be ripped out and redone, which set the project behind at least three months, officials said.

"They are working on the problem rather than try and disguise it like some countries would and allowing us to drive over it and it collapse," said Trowsdale.

The state is looking at whether the contractor will face any fines for the delay, but they told Asa they want the project to be finished first before they make that determination.

The contractor will pick up the extra cost of nearly $107,000.

WFTV