SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — The I-4 Ultimate project might be finished, but the Florida Department of Transportation still has a lot of work in store for the interstate.
WATCH: I-4 Ultimate: What’s next for the project?
Part of FDOT’s plans is to improve the driving experience through Seminole County.
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Anyone who drives I-4 during rush hour knows there’s always a backup around the Lake Mary and Sanford exits.
“It gets really bad,” said Lake Mary resident Brittany Kelly. “Especially in this area right here.”
Kelly lives just blocks away from the Lake Mary Boulevard exit.
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“It’s a problem. It’s a big problem,” Kelly said.
FDOT has laid out its “I-4 Beyond the Ultimate” project to help with the issues.
For starters the state wants to extend its new express lanes another nine miles all the way through Seminole County to Lake Monroe.
Also, the interchanges at Lake Mary Boulevard and County Route 46-A will become diverging diamonds.
A diverging diamond interchange allows for the two directions of traffic to divide and cross on the opposite side to gain access to and from the freeway more easily.
It does away with left hand turning signals and minimizes congestion.
The other plan in Lake Mary is to add a new exit ramp at Lake Emma Road by Topgolf.
The cost of this project an estimated $662 million.
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