AUBURNDALE, Fla. — Every day, just like clockwork, there's a delay that builds on Interstate 4 between Davenport and ChampionsGate.

A Spectrum Bay News 9 viewer reached out to Real Time Traffic Expert Chuck Henson to find out what the state has planned to bring those delays to an end.

The problem area is on eastbound I-4 between Polk and Osceola counties. Anyone who has driven it knows to expect a delay, no matter what time or day of the week.

Joe Viola lives in Auburndale, works in Orlando, and regularly deals with the traffic.

"Every day, you can set your watch," resident Joe Viola said. "If you don't hit it at a certain time, which really, I don't know if there is a perfect time."

Viola says the delay keeps him in his car for two and a half hours every day.

"If, again, if you leave before 4, maybe. But if you hit it around 5 o'clock, you know, forget it," he said.

 

 

There are three major highways that all feed into I-4 at the location. They are U.S. 27 in Davenport, Osceola-Polk Line Road and State Road 429. About five miles separate them.

With more and more people moving to the area, the delays are only going to get worse. Viola wants to know if the state has a plan.

Jessica Ottaviano with the Florida Department of Transportation said that, in the short term, the signals on the cross streets are being retimed to help flow on and off the interstates.

A bit farther out, toward 2022, improvements at the County Road 532 and 429 interchanges are in works.

But it's not until much later that a full redesign is in the works as part of something called the "I-4 Beyond the Ultimate" project. That requires more than $300 million and includes a diverging diamond interchange at ChampionsGate.

Furthermore, "I-4 Beyond the Ultimate" will add two express lanes in each direction of I-4.  This will be an extension of the work that is happening currently in downtown Orlando.

And while the design work is happening now, the total project has not been funded for construction.