ORLANDO, Fla. — We’re just days away from the opening of the I-4 express lanes. The lanes will officially open at 10 a.m. Saturday.
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The project, known as I-4 Ultimate, is going to totally transform the way we travel through Central Florida.
The biggest part of the transformation will be the addition of express lanes in the center of the interstate.
A video in early 2015 first introduced us to the idea of express lanes.
READ: I-4 express lanes: What you need to know ahead of this weekend
The I-4 Ultimate project managers showed us the success seen with express lanes in South Florida, so state leaders wanted to do something similar in Central Florida.
Seven years and lots of construction later, we finally have an opening date set for the express lanes.
The Florida Department of Transportation has done a lot of work behind the scenes to make sure everything and everyone is ready for the opening.
“It’s pretty interesting that you work on such a large thing, and some of the biggest impact is a small piece,” said Jessica Ottaviano, with FDOT. “For us, it’s these purple stickers that you can find in the I-4 express lanes.”
The stickers are simple, but they are significant.
READ: Here’s when the I-4 Ultimate express lanes will open
The information displayed is critical if you find yourself in an emergency situation.
The sticker tells you the cross street, eastbound or westbound, what the access is for crews to come help you and the mile marker you are at.
“It’s a unique identifier that places you in that roadway and helps us send units to the correct entrance so they can get to your location,” said Orlando Fire Department Assistant Chief Felix Benitez.
Benitez was part of several first responder trainings and mock exercises on the new express lanes, learning to access the gates and learning the different entrance and exit points for emergencies so he stresses he can’t get to you without these stickers.
READ: What you need to know about new express lanes coming to I-4
“They may not mean much to you but they do mean an incredible amount of information to us,” Benitez said.
If you plan on driving the lanes this weekend or at all, keep an eye out for the stickers. They’re big so they’re hard to miss.
Channel 9′s coverage of the express lanes opening will continue into next week.
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