ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) joined with Orange County, MetroPlan Orlando, and other community partners on Friday, July 18, to cut the ribbon for a new diverging diamond interchange (DDI) at Interstate 4 (I-4) and Daryl Carter Parkway – a milestone for safety, traffic flow, and connectivity in Orlando’s busy tourism corridor.

The three new ramps that will connect the existing overpass on Daryl Carter Parkway to I-4 are scheduled to open early Saturday morning, July 19. The new interchange will be I-4 Exit 70.

“With more than a quarter million vehicles a day traveling through nearby interchanges on I-4, these improvements are not only wanted, they’re needed,” said FDOT District Five Secretary John E. Tyler, P.E. “Our goals are to relieve congestion in this rapidly growing area, enhance safety, and give local residents and visitors new options to travel through Central Florida.”

Orange County has grown by more than 100,000 people in the past five years, and the current population of 1.511 million people is projected to continue to grow, said Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings. “Given this level of growth, transportation remains a top priority for my administration,” Demings said. “The Daryl Carter Parkway area, in particular, has experienced tremendous growth with the addition of new homes, schools, hotels, attractions, and the opening of retail and restaurants nearby.”

“It’s important to work as a region, that’s why MetroPlan Orlando is here,” said MetroPlan Orlando Board Chair Bob Dallari. “A project of this size and significance also cannot happen unless you have the leadership of DOT, the leadership of the state legislators, and the leadership of the Governor, Governor DeSantis. Without those folks being involved, projects like this could not happen.”

This spring, FDOT converted the Daryl Carter Parkway overpass to a diverging diamond traffic pattern in preparation for the new interchange. With three new ramps connecting directly to Daryl Carter Parkway, drivers on both eastbound and westbound I-4 will have easy access to Daryl Carter Parkway from two new exit ramps, and motorists will also be able to get onto eastbound I-4 right from Daryl Carter Parkway. A westbound I-4 on-ramp will be constructed in the future.

The innovative DDI design briefly moves traffic on Daryl Carter Parkway to the left side of the roadway at a traffic signal, then back to the right side at a second signal, eliminating left turns across oncoming traffic. Compared to a conventional interchange, this design:

·       cuts the risk of crashes in half by reducing those potential conflict points between vehicles; and

·       decreases the traffic signal phases from four to two, cutting drivers’ wait times at the red light and allowing nearly double the number of vehicles to pass through the interchange in the same amount of time.

The new interchange also has enhanced pedestrian safety features including new bicycle lanes, sidewalks protected by concrete barriers, and crosswalks.

The I-4/Daryl Carter interchange is one of three major projects underway in Orange County that will work together to extend the I-4 Express lanes by 10 miles in the westbound direction between Orlando and the new Moving I-4 Forward project in Osceola County. The new express lane extension will open to traffic when those projects, at I-4 and Sand Lake Road and I-4 and Apopka-Vineland Road (S.R. 535), are completed.

For more information about the new interchange, watch the video about the project at https://youtu.be/Leb-Bj6MZPA?si=urtdK1_AqfJbM5HW and visit www.I4Beyond.com/DarylCarter.