SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – The Florida Department of Transportation opened the first connection from Interstate 4 to the Wekiva Parkway, which will complete a western bypass to I-4 through Orlando.
The ramp from westbound I-4 to the Wekiva Parkway, State Road 429, opened Friday.
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Transportation officials said the opening of the 1.75-mile section signals the completion of Central Florida’s beltway is nearing its final stages.
“Rather than taking I-4 from Volusia County through downtown to head toward Disney or to Tampa, you can now take the parkway around and bypass a lot of that congested area,” Wekiva Parkway Community Outreach Specialist Mary Brooks said.
Nearly 23 miles of the parkway’s 25 miles have been completed.
“The growth is continuing and it’s significant,” Brooks said. “I think this will really help to accommodate folks and the increase of people moving into the community to get where they need to go.”
The new section is part of a $263 million interchange project at S.R. 417 that began in October 2018.
The building of the interchange includes expanding 2 miles of I-4; building, replacing or widening more than 20 bridges; and creating a new urban interchange to provide access to and from International Parkway.
The toll for the new section will be 50 cents for SunPass customers and 75 cents for those using Toll-by-Plate.
The entire $1.6 billion Wekiva Parkway is expected to be completed in early 2023.
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