I-4's Fairbanks curve is notorious for wet weather accidents

ORLANDO, Fla.,None — I-4 is back open after another truck jackknifed on the Fairbanks curve midday Monday in rainy weather.

The driver of a Pepsi truck lost control in the rain, blocking all westbound traffic, and setting off another wreck.

WFTV was on the scene shortly after a Pepsi truck sprawled across the westbound lanes around lunchtime.

The state had set up a special road project to make that curve safer, but the budget for the project pushed it off the fast track.

This weekend, two drivers lost control on the small stretch of I-4 where driver Larry Salter was delayed.

"I turned the truck off," Salter said. "I knew it was bad."

I-4 westbound was shut down for an hour. Because of the number of wrecks around Central Florida on Monday morning, it took the first trooper on the scene more than 20 minutes to arrive.

Then troopers had to wait for the proper equipment to remove the semi.

"Obviously, a large delay for travelers on westbound I-4," Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson Kim Montes said.

Between 2007 and 2010, there were more than 50 wrecks on I-4's Fairbanks curve.

The problem is that there is a section of the curve that's flat -- it doesn't slope up or down. Rain collects until an unsuspecting driver hydroplanes.

"There is an issue there, we admit that, and there needs to be maybe a better engineering to channel that water off," said Steve Olson of Florida Department of Transportation. "But it is safe if you drive with care in a rainstorm on that area or anywhere on I-4."

FDOT had hoped to have drainage improvements under way by now. The agency wanted to issue a fast-track response contract.

But, the upgrades exceeded the $120,000 limit on those types of contract. The lowest bid was closer to $300,000, which means work won't start until 2012.

Troopers said the driver of the Pepsi truck in Monday's accident was not seriously injured. Troopers said they do plan to cite him for careless driving.

WFTV checked the archives, and Monday's crash is the sixth major accident on the Fairbanks curve since January.

On Oct. 8, WFTV recorded a tractor-trailer spinning out of control during what was a weekend of wild weather. In July, a Lake County school bus hydroplaned and crashed.

Then, between Jan. 17 and 30,  three bad crashes involved tractor-trailers and cars. Bad weather contributed to at least two.

WFTV