FDOT makes safety upgrades at tricky Orlando interchange after 49 crashes | FOX 35 Orlando
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FDOT makes safety upgrades at tricky Orlando interchange after 49 crashes

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Published  April 17, 2025 5:50am EDT
Orlando
FOX 35 Orlando
Changes coming to troubled Orlando highway interchange

Changes coming to troubled Orlando highway interchange

A tricky highway interchange in Orlando is the site of safety upgrades. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) recently installed temporary concrete barriers along the ramp from eastbound SR 408 to eastbound I-4.

The Brief

    • The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) recently installed temporary concrete barriers along the ramp from eastbound SR 408 to eastbound I-4.
    • Since March 2023, the curve has been the site of 49 crashes, officials said.
    • Speeding was the most common contributing factor.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A tricky highway interchange in Orlando is the site of safety upgrades.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) recently installed temporary concrete barriers along the ramp from eastbound SR 408 to eastbound I-4.

The ramp is a downhill, slightly banked, sharp righthand curve. FDOT said since March 2023, the curve has been the site of 49 crashes. 

FDOT said speeding was the most common contributing factor. The ramp's suggested speed limit is 25 mph.

FDOT said no one was seriously hurt in any of the 49 crashes.

In August 2023, a driver lost control and went off the ramp, down the embankment and into a retention pond. It happened before there were any barriers.

Four Orlando police officers jumped into the water and pulled the driver out of the submerged car to safety.

FDOT said it has tried just about everything to get drivers to simply slow down on the curve. The list includes several reflective signs, an LED message board, traffic barrels, reflective strips and now the concrete barriers.

Two years ago, FDOT said barriers there would be too dangerous and would send cars back into the road to be hit by other drivers. 

FDOT said the change in direction was in the name of increasing safety.FDOT said it is in the process of designing a permanent barrier. 

FDOT said it will also add an adhesive substance to the road to increase traction when it's wet.

The agency plans to sign a construction contract by the end of 2025. The estimated cost of construction is $1.2 million.

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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Florida Department of Transportation. 

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