One of the busiest sections of Interstate 4 was closed overnight because of flooding, but Orlando’s main thoroughfare was back up and running late Monday morning, officials said.
I-4 began to flood near Kissimmee Sunday evening due to heavy rain, with closures lasting into the early morning hours of Monday.
Local drivers took to social media to warn others about the road conditions. On Monday morning one user wrote, “Take alternate routes. Tough commute this morning.” The user included the hashtag #lovefloridastorms.
Florida Highway Patrol assisted with the road closures and evacuations were not necessary, said spokesperson Tara Crescenzi in an email.
By the morning rush hour, all lanes were reopened and traffic was “flowing”, said Cindi Lane, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation in an email.
More heavy rain is forecasted to continue from Monday through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. The agency estimates anywhere between 1 to 3 inches of rain inland this week and warns of possible flooding in low-lying areas.
Construction could also have contributed to the localized flooding on the highway. Work on three projects totaling $1.7 billion along the busiest section of the I-4 corridor in between Polk and Osceola County began in January and is currently ongoing.
The projects are part of a larger $2.5 billion Moving I-4 Forward initiative that aims to improve 14 miles of the highway within the next decade in an effort to reduce travel time and offer easier connectivity to other roads.
However, drivers along this segment are used to construction-related delays and closures. Beginning on Friday, FDOT began nightly closures for construction, closing the eastbound off-ramp to World Drive and State Road 417 northbound nightly from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. through Friday, April 17.