I-4 ramp on Colonial Drive set to close for six months

ORLANDO, Fla. - The westbound entrance ramp onto I-4 from Colonial Drive will close Sunday night for the next six months.

“I think it’s too long,” driver Irini Plasoti said. “I think it’s going to impact traffic very heavily for a very long time and it’s going to have a negative impact on everyone’s thoughts.”

FOX 35 spoke to drivers who use the ramp often, including Plasoti.

She's new to the area and uses GPS to get around.

“I really rely on it and a lot of times I’ve noticed that it is not really up-to-date,” Plasoti said. “So, a lot of times, I’ll go somewhere and the road is already closed. So, I feel like I’m going to run into this issue a lot more.”

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) said the ramp will be closing so construction crews can work on the new westbound I-4 lanes through Downtown Orlando.

There is a detour set-up. Drivers will continue on Hughey Avenue to the South Street ramp to get on westbound I-4.

FDOT will be adding a third lane on Hughey Avenue between Colonial and South Street to help with the extra traffic.

However, business owners along I-4 believe the closure will affect business.

“Since these are one-way roads and [customers] already have it memorized how they come, they’ll have to learn new routes and that’ll probably affect business for about 90 days, at least, if not the whole time,” The Healthy Buddah Owner Jackie Pelchat said.

FDOT said the duration of the closure could change because of weather or any other unforeseen delays.

For more information on the closure, click here.