TAKING A LIVE LOOK AT ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, WHERE SOME WELCOME NEWS FOR FREQUENT FLIERS OF MCO. JUST IN TIME, REALLY FOR THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND. WE ALL KNOW TRAFFIC GETTING INTO THE AIRPORT AND SOMETIMES OUT CAN BE BRUTAL, BUT THE AIRPORT SAYS THERE IS A FIX. WESH 2’S. DEION JONES. LIV. DEPARTURES AT TERMINAL A, ONE OF THE MAIN FOCUSES OF THE AIRPORT’S PLANS. DAVID. LOOK, IF YOU DRIVE TO MCO WITH ANY SORT OF FREQUENCY, YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT A BOTTLENECK CAN LOOK LIKE, PARTICULARLY AT THE ENTRANCE TO TERMINAL A, BOTH DEPARTURES AND ARRIVALS. WE’VE BEEN WATCHING THAT TRAFFIC HERE AT THE ENTRANCE ALL DAY. IT’S ACTUALLY BEEN QUITE PLEASANT TODAY, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT’S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE. TO SPEND MILLIONS EASING CONGESTION. THE TRAFFIC IS CRAZY. WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE TRAFFIC? IT CAN BE HIT OR MISS WHEN YOU’RE DRIVING TO ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. TRAFFIC IS PRETTY INTENSE, ESPECIALLY MIDDAY. AT LEAST FOR THIS STORY. WE MISSED THE WORST OF IT AGAIN, HIT OR MISS. BUT LOOKING BACK THROUGH THE ARCHIVE, YOU CAN GET A TASTE OF HOW BAD IT CAN GET. YOU HAVE PEOPLE MERGING AND DRIVING CRAZY. THE BOARD VOTED TO APPROVE A $2.5 MILLION GRANT FROM FDOT. A BIG PIECE OF THE PUZZLE IS IMPROVING THE ENTRANCE TO TERMINAL A ON JEFF FUQUA BOULEVARD. ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES. YOU HAVE A DECISION POINT WHERE EITHER YOU’RE GOING TO TERMINAL A OR TERMINAL B OR C. BRAD FRIEDEL IS WITH THE GREATER ORLANDO AVIATION AUTHORITY. WE’RE DOING IMPROVEMENTS TO EXTEND AND WIDEN OUT THE MERGE AND WEAVE AREAS TO ALLOW MORE SPACE AND ROOM FOR THE FOR THE MOTORISTS TO OH, I NEED TO GO TO B AND I NEED TO GET OVER TWO LANES. IT GIVES YOU A LITTLE MORE REAL ESTATE TO MAKE THOSE MOVES. SAYS THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN IN THE WORKS FOR SOME YEARS. HE SAYS THEY’VE IDENTIFIED AREAS TO MOVE, MEDIANS, OPENING UP PLACES FOR TRAFFIC TO FLOW. WITH SEVEN PROJECTS ACROSS THE AIRPORT LAST YEAR, WE PROCESSED OVER 57 MILLION PASSENGERS, AND SO THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARRIVE HERE IN A PRIVATE VEHICLE. AND SO TRAFFIC CONGESTION IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE’RE CONSTANTLY TRYING TO FIND AND IDENTIFY IMPROVEMENTS TO REALLY HELP THAT TRAFFIC CONTINUE TO FLOW. NOW, REALITY CHECK, THE AIRPORT SAYS THIS PROJECT STILL HAS TO GO THROUGH DESIGN WORK AND GO OUT TO BIDS. SO THEY’RE EXPECTING TO START SOMETIME AT THE E
Orlando International Airport receives $2.5M for easing traffic congestion
The project will widen Jeff Fuqua Boulevard and the entrance to Terminal A, which airport leaders said can become a bottleneck at times.
Updated: 5:51 PM EDT May 20, 2026
Traveling by car to Orlando International Airport can, at times, have you sweating and glancing at the clock as you wait in a bottleneck to get into Terminal A.The point at which incoming MCO traffic diverges between Terminals A, B and C is the focus of a project years in the making that just received $2.5 million in FDOT funding to begin design work.The aim is to relieve congestion that can pile up and to widen the entry into Terminal A departures and arrivals.”You have a decision point where either you are going to Terminal A, or B, or C,” said Brad Friel, senior vice president of Planning and Environmental at the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. “We’re doing improvements to extend and widen out the merge and weave areas to allow more space for the motorists to go, ‘Oh, I need to go to B, and I need to get over two lanes,’ it gives you a little more real estate to make those moves.”The project is one of seven taking place across MCO to make the drive to the airport smoother for travelers, along with the people picking them up and dropping them off.”Leaving, arriving, the ride shares, shuttles, everything is congested coming into the airport as well as leaving out,” said Lorne George, who was dropping off family in town for his son’s graduation. “Traffic is pretty intense, especially mid-day.”Friel said he expects design to wrap up and bids to go out next year, with the project breaking ground toward the end of 2027.
ORLANDO, Fla. —
Traveling by car to Orlando International Airport can, at times, have you sweating and glancing at the clock as you wait in a bottleneck to get into Terminal A.
The point at which incoming MCO traffic diverges between Terminals A, B and C is the focus of a project years in the making that just received $2.5 million in FDOT funding to begin design work.
The aim is to relieve congestion that can pile up and to widen the entry into Terminal A departures and arrivals.
“You have a decision point where either you are going to Terminal A, or B, or C,” said Brad Friel, senior vice president of Planning and Environmental at the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. “We’re doing improvements to extend and widen out the merge and weave areas to allow more space for the motorists to go, ‘Oh, I need to go to B, and I need to get over two lanes,’ it gives you a little more real estate to make those moves.”
The project is one of seven taking place across MCO to make the drive to the airport smoother for travelers, along with the people picking them up and dropping them off.
“Leaving, arriving, the ride shares, shuttles, everything is congested coming into the airport as well as leaving out,” said Lorne George, who was dropping off family in town for his son’s graduation. “Traffic is pretty intense, especially mid-day.”
Friel said he expects design to wrap up and bids to go out next year, with the project breaking ground toward the end of 2027.