ORLANDO, Fla. — In less than two months, crews will begin tearing up a 21-mile stretch of Interstate 4, but project managers still have to figure out how to keep traffic flowing in some of the most congested areas.
Channel 9's Deneige Broom learned the area of the tourist corridor could be one of the project's biggest headaches.
Project managers said they're hoping to limit most lane closures to the nighttime to do the roadwork.
In downtown Orlando, that shouldn't cause many issues, but in the tourist areas where business is bustling at the very time crews would need to close lanes, there could be issues.
"Obviously we're out the door of Universal Studios and they have their Halloween Horror Nights, obviously a night time attraction, so there's some coordination that needs to go on between those venues and those attractions," said project manager Dave Parks.
Crews plan to work on the entire 21-mile stretch from Longwood to Kirkman Road at the same time beginning early next year.
The Kirkman Road area could be finished before the rest of the project, specifically the new overpass at Grand National Drive, officials said.
"The two biggest things at Kirkman and Grand National are going to be the new overpass that will relieve a lot of that congestion that travels through Kirkman Road so that folks who are just trying to get from one side of I-4 to the other will now have another option," said Parks.
One of the things that can confuse people who aren't familiar with the area are the left side exit ramps. The facelift at Kirkman would make it a right-hand exit to make it uniform, official said.
Project managers also hope the changes will make it safer for visitors who might be walking.
The roadwork will take at least six and a half years once crews break ground early next year.