Interstate 4

Interstate 4 (abbreviated I-4) is a 132.30-mile (212.91 km) intrastate Interstate Highway located entirely within the state of Florida, United States. It goes from Interstate 275 in Tampa, Florida (27.965°N 82.453°W / 27.965; -82.453) to Interstate 95 at Daytona Beach, Florida (29.155°N 81.076°W / 29.155; -81.076). It also has the Florida Department of Transportation designation of State Road 400, but only a small portion of the route is signed at the east end.

The combination of the Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando and Daytona Beach metropolitan areas is often referred to as the I-4 Corridor, since the freeway connects all four. In the 2004 U.S. presidential election, the I-4 corridor, a site of significant growth, was a focus of political activity within the swing state of Florida. Communities along the I-4 corridor were perceived by both major political parties as having higher proportions of undecided voters as compared to more Republican- or Democratic-leaning portions of the state.

An old shield in Orlando, Florida

Hurricane Charley is sometimes referred to locally as the "I-4 Hurricane." The storm's path followed closely to Interstate 4 for its last 100 miles (160 km) and caused widespread damage in Central Florida.

Major cities

Bolded cities are officially designated control cities for signs:

• Tampa, Florida
• Plant City, Florida
• Lakeland, Florida
• Orlando, Florida
• Daytona Beach, Florida

History

• Interstate 4 is one of Florida's first interstate segments be constructed. The first segment opened between Plant City and Lakeland in 1959.
• In 1960/1961, the Howard Frankland Bridge opened to traffic, as well as the segment from 50th St in Tampa to Plant City, and the segment from Lake Monroe to Lake Helen.
• The segment from Lakeland to Orlando was complete by 1962.
• By the mid 1960s, several segments were already complete, including Malfunction Junction in Tampa and parts of I-4 through Orlando.
• The original western terminus was set in South Pasadena in the late 1960s, but this plan was rejected due to local opposition. As a result, I-4 only went as far southwest as 9th St N in St. Petersburg.
• The entire interstate was complete by the late 1960s. However, the western terminus was truncated to Malfunction Junction in 1971 when I-75 was extended over the Frankland Bridge. Eventually, that stretch was again renamed to become part of I-275.
• The interchange with what is today Interstate 75, was contructed in the early 1980s.
• In the early/mid 1990s, several interchanges near Kissimmee were constructed/upgraded to accommodate increasing traffic going to and from Walt Disney World, however I-4's main lanes were not widened in the process. At around the same time, the Southern Connector was extended to I-4.
• The I-4/I-275 interchange (Malfunction Junction) was rebuilt in 2004 and 2005, and I-4 is under staged renovations to expand it from four to six lanes (with eight lanes in certain segments). Some of this work is complete.
• Eventually, I-4 will be widened again to a total of at least ten lanes (five in each direction). Studies for this project are already underway and construction should commence sometime in the 2010s. Completion of the project should be around 2020.

Notes

This road is very close to a true diagonal route. It goes further east-west than north-south, though it would probably still be even-numbered even if it didn't, given that it only intersects odd-numbered Interstates at right angles. Throughout most of Orange County, I-4 travels in almost a north-south direction.

The bridge over the St. Johns River, originally a single four-lane span, replaced with two three-lane spans in 2003, is now named the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Many post-1970 era interchanges along I-4 were built prior to the recent widening projects, with (I-4) expansion in mind. Meaning that there is enough room available to widen I-4 up to ten lanes without extensively modifying the interchanges. Some of these interchanges include the Interstate 75 stack (constructed in the 1980s) and several interchanges in Kissimmee (constructed in the late 1980s/early 1990s).

Tolled express lanes were being planned in the Orlando area as a traffic congestion relief technique for rush hour commuters. The name for them was to be Xpress 400, numbered after the state road designation for I-4, SR 400. However, due to U.S. Representative John Mica, they have been banned by a recently passed rider in the SAFETEA-LU Federal transportation bill in 2005.

While the entire length of I-4 carries the hidden designation of State Road 400, there is a three mile long stretch of signed SR 400 extending from the northeast terminus of I-4 to an intersection with U.S. Route 1 (SR 5) in Daytona Beach.

This is the lowest-numbered Interstate Highway, not including Interstates in Hawaii; I-5 is the lowest-numbered north-south Interstate.

The fierce rivalry between the Tampa Bay Storm and Orlando Predators Arena Football League teams has been penned as the War on I-4, as has the rivalry between the University of South Florida in Tampa and the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

In Tampa, the exit to 40th Street (State Road 569) has been closed since late-2005, due to the ongoing reconstruction of I-4; It will not reopen due to a proposed connector highway with the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway.

Eastbound I-4 shifted to its new, permanent alignment between Malfunction Junction and 50th St on Tuesday, August 8, 2006 at 5:30am. The new alignment includes a right-lane ramp exit/entry at the 22nd St/21st St Interchange (The previous left-lane configuration was causing hazardous conditions to commuters since its opening in 2005). On Friday, August 11, 2006; a fourth lane opened on eastbound I-4 between the downtown junction and 50th St (led in by a newly opened third lane on the eastbound I-4 ramp from northbound I-275). And on Friday, August 18, the new westbound allignment, just west of 50th Street, opened. The newly opened lanes will improve flow throughout the interchange. The 50th St overpass however, will not be complete until late 2007.

Also, the eastbound I-4 exit ramp to Columbus Drive/50th Street is situated to the left-hand side of the highway (as opposed to its former right-hand side exit). This exit shift went into effect in spring 2006 and is part of the new, permanent interstate configuration.

In Orlando, the eastbound exit to Robinson Street (State Road 526) permanently closed at 11PM on April 25, 2006, to make way for construction of the new eastbound onramp from State Road 408.

The new flyover from I-4 west to John Young Parkway (County Road 423) opened the morning of April 27, 2006.

Intersections With Other Interstates

• Interstate 275 in Tampa, Florida (western terminus)
• Interstate 75 in Tampa, Florida
• Interstate 95 in Daytona Beach, Florida (eastern terminus)

Proposed Connection to State Road 618 in Tampa

There is currently a proposal to split this section into a new article. Please visit the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway discussion to voice your opinion.

Due to the ever-increasing amount of truck traffic that connect to and from the Port of Tampa via 21st and 22nd Streets; it became clear that an elevated highway connecting the Interstate and the Selmon Crosstown Expressway was needed to safely channel truck traffic to and from the area. One major accident involving a truck in historic Ybor City could mean a huge disaster. The proposed connector would parallel the 40th St corridor from the Crosstown to I-4 (following an abandoned CSX rail corridor).

Features include special Truck ONLY Lanes to safely carry all truck traffic to and from the port, thus eliminating almost all of the truck traffic on 21st and 22nd Streets.

Early planning for the highway began around 1999, with most of the major design stage completed in 2004/2005. However, funding did not become available for the connector project until a recent federal transportation bill passed.

At this point, all major planning for the project is nearing completion but will not be finalized until late 2008. Right of Way Acquisition is already well underway and should be complete by early 2008.

Construction of the connector should begin around 2009/2010.

• In 2004, the 40th St exit (Exit 2) with I-4 was permanently closed due to the proposed connector.

Exit list

Exits are numbered from west to east.

Number		Mile	Destinations		Notes
	Old
			Interstate 275 south - Tampa International Airport/St. Petersburg	Tampa	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			Interstate 275 north to Interstate 75 north - Ocala		westbound exit and eastbound entrance
1	1		State Road 585 - 21st Street/22nd Street
2 (Former Exit)	2		State Road 569 - 40th Street (Permanently Closed)		Now only an overpass with no ramps; to be replaced by a proposed connector to State Road 618 (Florida)
2 (Future Exit)			I-4/Crosstown Connector south to Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway/Port of Tampa		Connector construction is scheduled to begin in 2009.
3	3		U.S. Highway 41 - 50th Street/Columbus Drive		Eastbound left exit and Westbound left entrance. Eastbound right entrance and Westbound right exit.
5	4		State Road 574 - Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard
6	5		Orient Road		eastbound exit and westbound entrance
7	6		U.S. Highway 92 to U.S. Route 301 - Hillsborough Avenue/Riverview/Zephyrhills
9	7		Interstate 75 - Ocala/Naples
10	8		County Road 579 - Mango/Thonotosassa
14	9		McIntosh Road
17	10		Branch Forbes Road
19	11		State Road 566 - Thonotosassa Road	Plant City
21	12-13		State Road 39 - Alexander Street/Buchman Highway/Zephyrhills
22	14		Park Road ( State Road 553)
25	15		County Line Road
27	15A		State Road 570 east - Polk Parkway/Winter Haven/Bartow	Lakeland
28	16		to U.S. Highway 92 ( State Road 546)
31	17		State Road 539 - Kathleen
32	18		U.S. Highway 98 - Dade City
33	19		State Road 33/County Road 582
38	20		State Road 33
41	20A		State Road 570 west - Polk Parkway/Auburndale/Lakeland
44	21		State Road 559 - Polk City/Auburndale
48	22		County Road 557 - Lake Alfred/Winter Haven
55	23		U.S. Highway 27 - Haines City/Clermont
58	24		County Road 532 - Kissimmee/Poinciana
62	24C-D		Disney World/Celebration
62	24E		State Road 417 north - International Airport/Sanford		eastbound exit and westbound entrance
64	25		U.S. Highway 192 - Celebration/Kissimmee/Magic Kingdom/Disney/MGM Studios		split into 64A and 64B
65	26C-D		File:Osceola Parkway logo.png Osceola Parkway - Animal Kingdom/Wide World of Sports		was only 26C eastbound
67	26A-B		State Road 536 to State Road 417 - Epcot/Downtown Disney
68	27		State Road 535 - Kissimmee/Lake Buena Vista
71	27A		Central Florida Pkwy/Sea World	International Drive	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
72	28		State Road 528 east - International Airport/Cape Canaveral
74A	29		State Road 482 - Sand Lake Road		was 29A westbound after 29B (current 74B) opened
74B	29B		Universal		westbound exit and entrance
75A	30A		State Road 435 south - Kirkman Road/Universal		no westbound entrance
75B	30B		State Road 435 north - Kirkman Road		no eastbound entrance
77	31		Florida's Turnpike - Miami/Wildwood
78	31A		Conroy Road
79	32		County Road 423 - John Young Parkway
80A	33A		U.S. Highway 17 south/ U.S. Highway 441 south/ U.S. Highway 92 west - International Airport		exit 80 westbound
80B	33B		U.S. Highway 17 north/ U.S. Highway 441 north/ U.S. Highway 92 east		eastbound exit and westbound entrance
81A	34		Michigan Street		westbound exit and eastbound entrance
81B-C	35		Kaley Avenue		was split into 35A and 35B westbound only
82A	36		State Road 408
82B	37		Gore Street		westbound exit and entrance
82C	38		Anderson Street east	Downtown Orlando
83	39		South Street		westbound exit and eastbound entrance
83A	40		State Road 526 - Robinson Street (Eastbound exit closed)		eastbound exit and westbound entrance
83B	41		U.S. Highway 17/U.S. Highway 92/State Road 50 - Amelia Street/Colonial Drive		part of exit 84 westbound
84	42		Ivanhoe Boulevard
85	43		Princeton Street
86	44		Par Avenue	Winter Park	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
87	45		Fairbanks Avenue ( State Road 426)
88	46		State Road 423 - Lee Road
90	47		State Road 414 - Maitland Boulevard		split into 90A and 90B eastbound
92	48		State Road 436 - Altamonte Springs/Apopka
94	49		State Road 434 - Longwood/Winter Springs
98	50		Lake Mary/Heathrow
101A	51A		County Road 46A - Heathrow	Sanford
101B			State Road 417 - International Airport
101C	51		State Road 46 - Mount Dora
104	52		U.S. Highway 17/U.S. Highway 92
108	53		DeBary/Deltona
111	53CA-CB		Deltona/Orange City		split into 111A and 111B eastbound
114	54		State Road 472 - Orange City	DeLand
116	55		Lake Helen
118	56		State Road 44 - New Smyrna Beach
129	57		U.S. Highway 92 east	Daytona Beach	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			Interstate 95 north - Jacksonville
			Interstate 95 south - Miami
132	58		State Road 400 east - South Daytona		eastbound exit and westbound entrance

Misc.

• In maps and atlasses dating to the 1950s/60s/and 70s; The Tampa/St. Petersburg section of Interstate 4/Interstate 275 was marked as the Tampa Expressway. The Orlando segment was marked as the Orlando Expressway. Both names have since faded from the maps.

References

• FDOT GIS data
• Historic Florida Interstate Information

External links

• Trans4mation (Orlando-area reconstruction)
• I4Polk.com (Lakeland-area reconstruction)
• Tampa Bay Interstates (Tampa-area reconstruction)
• Interstate 4 at Exitlists.com
• Interstate 4 at Larry's Phat Page
• Interstate 4 at Interstate275Florida.com