Interstate 4

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Interstate 4 Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length:	132.30 mi (213 km)
Formed:	1957
West end:	I-275 in Tampa
Major junctions:	I-75 near Tampa Florida's Turnpike in Orlando
East end:	I-95/State Road 400 east in Daytona Beach
< SR 3 SR 4 >
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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) to Interstate 95 at Daytona Beach, Florida (29.155° N 81.076° W). 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.

Contents 1 Major cities 2 History 3 Notes 4 State Road 400 (signed portion) 4.1 Halifax River bridge 5 Exit list 6 Misc. 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Major cities

Bolded cities are officially designated control cities for signs:

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

[edit] History

• Interstate 4 is one of Florida's first interstate segments to 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 constructed 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.
• 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.^{[citation needed]}
• 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.
• This is one of the routes on the Interstate System that doesn't have a child 3-digit route

[edit] 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 and Seminole 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.

This is the lowest-numbered Interstate Highway in the contiguous 48 states, 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[1]

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 alignment, 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.^[2][3][4][5]

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.^[6]

The new flyover from I-4 west to John Young Parkway (County Road 423) opened the morning of April 27, 2006.^[7][8][9]

[edit] State Road 400 (signed portion)

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. Named Beville Road, it runs along the boundary between Daytona Beach and South Daytona.

[edit] Halifax River bridge

There have been a number of proposals for a Beville Road Bridge across the Halifax River to Daytona Beach Shores. Proponents say that this would improve traffic flow and assist in hurricane evacuations, while opponents claim that a bridge would lead to congestion and environmental damage.^{[citation needed]} Somewhat of a hot topic in the local area in the 1990s, the bridge proposal currently appears to be dormant.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Exit list

County	Location	Mile	Exit #		Destinations	Notes
			New	Old
Hillsborough	Tampa				Interstate 275 South – St. Petersburg, Tampa International Airport	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
					Interstate 275 North, to Interstate 75 North – Ocala	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			1	1	State Road 585 (22nd Street), 21st Street
			2 (Future)		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 (Hillsborough Avenue), to U.S. Highway 301 – Riverview, Zephyrhills
			9	7	Interstate 75 – Ocala, Naples
			10	8	County Road 579, Mango Road – Mango, Thonotosassa
			14	9	McIntosh Road
			17	10	Branch Forbes Road
	Plant City		19	11	State Road 566 (Thonotosassa Road)
			21	12-13	State Road 39 (Buchman Highway), Alexander Street – Zephyrhills
			22	14	State Road 553 (Park Road)
			25	15	County Line Road
Polk	Lakeland		27	15A	State Road 570 East (Polk Parkway) – Winter Haven, Bartow
			28	16	State Road 546, to U.S. Highway 92
			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
			60		State Road 429 North – Apopka
			58	24	County Road 532 – Kissimmee, Poinciana
Osceola
			62	24C-D	Disney World, Celebration
			62	24E	State Road 417 North – Sanford, International Airport	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	Osceola Parkway – Animal Kingdom, Wide World of Sports	was only 26C eastbound
Orange			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 Parkway – Sea World	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			72	28	State Road 528 East (Martin Andersen Beachline Expressway) – 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-B	30A-B	State Road 435 (Kirkman Road) – Universal
			77	31	Florida's Turnpike - Miami/Wildwood
			78	31A	Conroy Road
			79	32	County Road 423 (John Young Parkway)
			80A-B	33A-B	U.S. Highway 17, U.S. Highway 92, U.S. Highway 441 – International Airport
			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
	Orlando		82C	38	Anderson Street East
			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 (Colonial Drive), Amelia Street
			84	42	Ivanhoe Boulevard
			85	43	Princeton Street
	Winter Park		86	44	Par Avenue	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			87	45	State Road 426 (Fairbanks Avenue)
			88	46	State Road 423 (Lee Road)
			90	47	State Road 414 (Maitland Boulevard)	split into 90A and 90B eastbound
Seminole			92	48	State Road 436 – Altamonte Springs, Apopka
			94	49	State Road 434 – Longwood, Winter Springs
			98	50	Lake Mary Boulevard – Lake Mary, Heathrow
	Sanford		101A	51A	County Road 46A – Heathrow
			101B		State Road 417 – International Airport
			101C	51	State Road 46 – Mount Dora
			104	52	U.S. Highway 17, U.S. Highway 92
Volusia			108	53	DeBary, Deltona
			111	53CA-CB	Deltona, Orange City	split into 111A and 111B eastbound
	DeLand		114	54	State Road 472 – Orange City
			116	55	Lake Helen
			118	56	State Road 44 - New Smyrna Beach
	Daytona Beach		129	57	U.S. Highway 92 East	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
					Interstate 95 – Jacksonville, Miami
			132	58	State Road 400 East – South Daytona	eastbound exit and westbound entrance

[edit] 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.

[edit] References

1. ^ Tampa Bay Interstates, I-4/Crosstown Connector Project Page
2. ^ Tampa Bay Interstates, Eastbound I-4 in new alignment, August 8, 2006
3. ^ WTSP, Eastbound I-4 traffic: New lanes, new exit through Ybor City, August 7, 2006
4. ^ WTSP, New I-4 lanes help drivers get to concert early, August 10, 2006
5. ^ Tampa Bay Interstates, New eastbound I-4 lane open!, August 8, 2006
6. ^ Central Florida News 13, On The Move, April 25, 2006
7. ^ Orlando Sentinel, Rising above I-4 crowds, April 26, 2006
8. ^ WESH, Changes Under Way On I-4, April 26, 2006
9. ^ Central Florida News 13, On The Move, April 26, 2006

• FDOT GIS data
• Historic Florida Interstate Information

[edit] External links

• I-4 Exit Services List (Tampa to Daytona)
• 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

edit Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink)
4	5	8	10	12	15	16	17	19	20	22	24	25	26	27	29	30
35	37	39	40	43	44	45	49	55	57	59	64	65	66	66 (W)		68
69	70	71	72	73	74	75	76 (W)		76 (E)		77	78	79	80	81	82
83	84 (W)		84 (E)		85	86 (W)		86 (E)		87	88 (W)		88 (E)		89	90
91	93	94	95	96	97	99	(238)		H-1		H-2		H-3
Unsigned			A-1		A-2		A-3		A-4		PRI-1		PRI-2		PRI-3
Lists		Main - Auxiliary - Suffixed - Business - Proposed - Unsigned Gaps - Intrastate - Interstate standards - Replaced

Florida State Roads
Preceded by 399	State Road 400	Succeeded by 401