The two eastbound lanes of Interstate 4 will close every night starting today. This is why.

Drivers along Interstate 4 can expect some relief in the country’s busiest corridor by the end of this year as the Florida Department of Transport begins construction to add new lanes Monday night. – much faster than initially expected –

However, this process can be painful along the way for drivers in the late night or early morning hours.

Starting Monday night, workers will close two eastbound lanes of I-4 along a stretch about seven miles east of World Drive near Disney Springs from 27 east of Polk County. The first lane will close at 8pm Monday and reopen at 7am Tuesday, while the second will close at 10pm and reopen at 5am, the Florida Department of Transport said. These overnight closures will continue daily in the near future.

Lane closure marks the acceleration of FDOT’s latest I-4 improvements as part of the larger moving I-4 forward project. This was announced in June 2024 by Gov. Ron Desantis to quickly reduce congestion on a series of important highways. 140,000 units per day.

“The I-4 movement is the first program of that kind of program and will change the way the transportation industry delivers projects,” Keith Slater, program director for I-4 Forward, said in a statement. Masu. “Our team is committed to innovating and implementing ideas that will make results faster so that communities can spend less time in traffic and more time doing what they like.”

Transportation said it was working overtime to add new lanes in each direction. The project also includes a move that will expand the highway to up to 12 lanes by building wider entrance and exit ramps at Championsgate Interchange, expanding the highway from five lanes, and adding general use and Express. Lay the foundation for five major segments of the I-4 forward program. Rebuild the ramp with lanes, replacements, add new connections, resurface the road, spread the shoulders.

The entire project was originally scheduled to take 15-20 years. FDOT revealed last year that it plans to complete the work in 10 years, saying that reusing the shoulders of the I-4 will provide faster relief with this first stretch.

“The area already has a shoulder, so we’re taking that shoulder and turning it into a lane,” said Matthew Richardson, a spokesman for FDOT. “All we have to do is really shattered and we’re making sure we can do that extra lane quickly.”

FDOT hopes to reduce congestion from construction by first building additional lanes before the large-scale project begins, Richardson said.

“When it comes to construction, we often hear terms like, ‘It tends to get worse before it gets better,'” Richardson said. “What we’re doing is adding some relief lanes for traffic and trying to improve things as we improve things.”

However, the I-4 stretch will lose his shoulder while construction is underway, Richardson said. Instead, concrete barriers separate construction workers from drivers. Eventually, a new shoulder will be built as part of a large project moving forward I-4.

Preparation for the first phase project began in the second half of 2024, but this week will increase. Drivers can see the heavy machinery and construction crew, Richardson said.