Florida traffic gridlock map1/14/2024 July, August, November, and December are no picnic either. That is when you are dealing with college football games and a plethora of other big events that bring in tons of people from out- of-state. January is the absolute worst time to be on I-4 around Orlando and Tampa. On weekends, heavy traffic can persist until 10 or 11 at night. Under normal circumstances, the busiest times of the day are morning drive time and the afternoon hours between 3 and 7 PM. There is no doubt that I-4 is a dangerous road. I-4 isn't keeping up and there aren't enough alternate routes to absorb the excess. ![]() Leaders in Davenport continue approving commercial projects in hopes of making the area a leader in logistics and freight moving. Meanwhile, developers keep building houses. At peak, it can take up to 60 minutes to travel the 6 miles between Route 27 and the edge of Disney's property – just because there's so much traffic trying to enter the highway from three main arteries. Still, there doesn't seem to be any kind of effort among state leaders to start working on traffic problems now. This particular area has been under heavy development for the last several years with no end in sight. A good example is the I-4/Route 27 interchange in Davenport, Florida. Moreover, state planners typically do a lousy job of dealing with traffic until years after land development has created and untenable situation. The state's population is growing faster than infrastructure projects can keep up with. If unfamiliar drivers and excessive speed are not bad enough, adding to I-4's woes is Florida's inadequate infrastructure. What happens when a local travelling at a high rate of speed suddenly catches up to a tourist going 20 to 30 mph slower? The problem is that locals don't mind going 65 or 70 mph because they are familiar with the highway. Posted speed limits are lower in and around Orlando and the outskirts of Tampa, but they are about as effective as speed bump kits at Daytona International Speedway. ![]() There are only a few short stretches the do not pass through urban or suburban areas. Remember, the highway is only 132 miles long. ![]() But such stretches are not the norm on I-4. This is not necessarily a bad thing in wide-open areas where urban traffic is limited. It doesn't help that vast stretches of I-4 have a posted speed limit of 65 mph. It is a recipe for accidents if ever there was one. Panic can even set in when traffic is at its heaviest. That makes them extra cautious and more prone to making unexpected decisions. The thing about tourists and snowbirds is that they are not necessarily confident about where they are going. The tourists and snowbirds only make traffic worse. Even without tourists and snowbirds, there is a lot of traffic on the road every single day. As the only interstate running east to west, I-4 is also heavily trafficked by trucks of all shapes and sizes. The highway is already heavily travelled by local residents getting to and from work. It is that combination of tourists and snowbirds that creates one of the biggest problems on I-4. ![]() That doesn't even account for all of the snowbirds who spend their winters in central Florida. The region sees tens of millions of visitors every single year. Perhaps you'd like to know why? Tourists and SnowbirdsĬentral Florida is arguably the most visited tourist destination in America. The many miles between are no picnic either. The two most dangerous sections are found in the greater Orlando area and the last few miles before I-4 meets I-275 in downtown Tampa. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) makes it clear that this is a highway you absolutely must be careful about. Despite being only 132 miles in length, the highway has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years. I-4 is a stretch of interstate that runs from I-95 in Daytona Beach clear across the state to Tampa.
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