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I4 - Beyond the Ultimate [Pre-construction]


HankStrong

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2 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

John Mica writes a column in the Sentinel about what’s next for I4 (no word if the replacement bridge over the SJR will be named for @orange87 yet):

I think it would be the right thing to do to honor my legacy as the former King of DeBary. :tw_smirk:

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2 hours ago, orange87 said:

I think it would be the right thing to do to honor my legacy as the former King of DeBary. :tw_smirk:

All hail the King... and that seems to be the point of Mr. Mica's self-aggrandizing letter. Yes, he tried/ did a lot for the area for transportation- and I appreciate it. But he was elected in in '93. Phase 1 will be done in 2023. Phase 2 and 3 sometime way after that. I'm not really sure how much credit he deserves.

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13 minutes ago, AmIReal said:

All hail the King... and that seems to be the point of Mr. Mica's self-aggrandizing letter. Yes, he tried/ did a lot for the area for transportation- and I appreciate it. But he was elected in in '93. Phase 1 will be done in 2023. Phase 2 and 3 sometime way after that. I'm not really sure how much credit he deserves.

There were several parts I chuckled to myself about but I didn’t  wanna get in the way of @jrs2 ‘s longtime bro crush :) on Mr. Mica and his amazing hair so I just posted as is. 

Edited by spenser1058
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16 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

There were several parts I chuckled to myself about but I didn’t  wanna get in the way of @jrs2 ‘s longtime bro crush :) on Mr. Mica and his amazing hair so I just posted as is. 

...he had a good helmet like Blago...

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  • 4 months later...

Large artwork to be added to the entrance ramp of the pedestrian bridge at Colonial. At a full 35 feet tall it should serve as a beautiful beacon to the junkies and homeless encampment at that location.

https://www.growthspotter.com/news/downtown-orlando-developments/gs-news-i4-sculpture-20211216-oebewjoanbh5tdgd52qiso5daq-story.html

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1 hour ago, AmIReal said:

Large artwork to be added to the entrance ramp of the pedestrian bridge at Colonial. At a full 35 feet tall it should serve as a beautiful beacon to the junkies and homeless encampment at that location.

https://www.growthspotter.com/news/downtown-orlando-developments/gs-news-i4-sculpture-20211216-oebewjoanbh5tdgd52qiso5daq-story.html

What an absolutely uninspired and meaningless waste of money.

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  • 1 month later...

They are starting as a fixed rate before switching to variable I believe.  $0.50 cents per section.  At least thats what WFTV reported but y'know...

--

Also, this led my down a rabbit hole of reading informational brochures... from https://i4express.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/4867-I4Express-Print-Brochure-12x18-20211215-onlineversion.pdf

"Florida’s Turnpike Direct connect exit ramp from WB I-4 Express to SB Florida’s Turnpike Direct connect entrance ramp from NB Florida’s Turnpike to EB I-4 Express"

Didn't realize Turnpike ramps were only one direction.  image.png.9d948d5f922236e79dd12b426751903e.png

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I thought I read somewhere where those express lanes would be variable rate but I bet they will get good use.  My NC quickpass doubles as a Sunpass so I can use them if not too expensive. 

Overall I think the I-4 project makes Orlando look like the major city and metro area it really is and I know it was painful to get to this point.

Last photos are of the Majestic Tower aka from a local God's Tower.  It almost looks completed.   It is quite striking coming into town or leaving the city on I-4. 

 

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On 7/18/2021 at 7:57 PM, AmIReal said:

All hail the King... and that seems to be the point of Mr. Mica's self-aggrandizing letter. Yes, he tried/ did a lot for the area for transportation- and I appreciate it. But he was elected in in '93. Phase 1 will be done in 2023. Phase 2 and 3 sometime way after that. I'm not really sure how much credit he deserves.

Well, I dunno.

But I do know something related to this...in Daytona, the redo of the US92/I-4 interchange, which included the SR 400 redo and interchange as well...all of this construction that pretty much ended in 2021 but was ongoing for a couple of years...FDOT did not have this project on the books at all.  Volusia had to hire a consultant/lobbyist to get Tally to design it/fund it, otherwise it would have never happened.

It makes sense.  Look at Spaghetti Junction aka the Tom Moreland Interchange.  Just that name in and of itself speaks volumes as to how and why The ATL got so many infrastructure improvements when they did.

I definitely see how that is or was a bone of contention with the Obama HSR money that was declined.  Obama had no ties to CFLA, but all things being equal ala the viability issues with the project, even if he had political reasons for doing it (which he did), still, CFLA would have benefited.  He in essence stepped into the shoes of an otherwise "lobbyist" for CFLA with that project (even if he could care less whether we and Bud-ee lived or died).

It's like The Gators and Saint Urban; he could care less about The O&B; but he did care about his legacy in winning championships...and UF got in the way (or rather benefitted).

Full circle to the lobbyist example.

Maybe with the likes of Tampa, Miami, FT.L, WPB, and JAX being in the same state and each still growing, maybe without his intervention The ORL would have stayed on the backburner for an even longer period of time.  Because at the end of the day, Dade, Broward, PB, and Hillsborough are all still more populated than Orange.

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TBH, having driven in Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and Atlanta. . . Miami and Tampa needed some of their projects more than I-4, and Atlanta has some of the worst traffic in the country.  The Tampa Malfunction Junction, Ybor, and Crosstown projects were much more needed than I-4 Ultimate and the Orlando "beltway" have ever been.  

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3 hours ago, jrs2 said:

Well, I dunno.

But I do know something related to this...in Daytona, the redo of the US92/I-4 interchange, which included the SR 400 redo and interchange as well...all of this construction that pretty much ended in 2021 but was ongoing for a couple of years...FDOT did not have this project on the books at all.  Volusia had to hire a consultant/lobbyist to get Tally to design it/fund it, otherwise it would have never happened.

It makes sense.  Look at Spaghetti Junction aka the Tom Moreland Interchange.  Just that name in and of itself speaks volumes as to how and why The ATL got so many infrastructure improvements when they did.

I definitely see how that is or was a bone of contention with the Obama HSR money that was declined.  Obama had no ties to CFLA, but all things being equal ala the viability issues with the project, even if he had political reasons for doing it (which he did), still, CFLA would have benefited.  He in essence stepped into the shoes of an otherwise "lobbyist" for CFLA with that project (even if he could care less whether we and Bud-ee lived or died).

It's like The Gators and Saint Urban; he could care less about The O&B; but he did care about his legacy in winning championships...and UF got in the way (or rather benefitted).

Full circle to the lobbyist example.

Maybe with the likes of Tampa, Miami, FT.L, WPB, and JAX being in the same state and each still growing, maybe without his intervention The ORL would have stayed on the backburner for an even longer period of time.  Because at the end of the day, Dade, Broward, PB, and Hillsborough are all still more populated than Orange.

The hagiography built around John Mica and his bad toupees borders on complete nonsense.

Just two examples: if he was indeed “Mr. Transportation”, standing astride federal largesse to roads and transit, ask yourself this: why is Orlando the largest MSA to have to build its beltway with precious few interstate highway dollars? Where was John? Nowhere. Let’s also note Orlando doesn’t have a “beltway”, it has a “crooked as a dog’s hind leg -way” because they had to build it on the cheap. Thanks, John!

Also, ask yourself this, when the feds were offering to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the region for light rail, where was John? Do you think Tip O’Neill or Teddy Kennedy or, heck, Mitt Romney would have let a local backbench politician from THEIR OWN PARTY derail  one of the biggest transportation projects in the region? Where was John?

John was too tied up in his social issues to be a transportation titan. He was also a lousy politician. It was well known how purple his suburban district was becoming and he refused to moderate his social issue stances to win re-election in the ‘burbs.

He and his buddy, Bill “I Saved Your Navy Base” McCollum, were equally less than competent and did the region few favors.

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2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

The hagiography built around John Mica and his bad toupees borders on complete nonsense.

Just two examples: if he was indeed “Mr. Transportation”, standing astride federal largesse to roads and transit, ask yourself this: why is Orlando the largest MSA to have to build its beltway with precious few interstate highway dollars? Where was John? Nowhere. Let’s also note Orlando doesn’t have a “beltway”, it has a “crooked as a dog’s hind leg -way” because they had to build it on the cheap. Thanks, John!

Also, ask yourself this, when the feds were offering to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the region for light rail, where was John? Do you think Tip O’Neill or Teddy Kennedy or, heck, Mitt Romney would have let a local backbench politician from THEIR OWN PARTY derail  one of the biggest transportation projects in the region? Where was John?

John was too tied up in his social issues to be a transportation titan. He was also a lousy politician. It was well known how purple his suburban district was becoming and he refused to moderate his social issue stances to win re-election in the ‘burbs.

He and his buddy, Bill “I Saved Your Navy Base” McCollum, were equally less than competent and did the region few favors.

I 100%, totally agree. Mica was a generally nice guy to communicate with, McCollum was a pompous ass (who may have suffered from Napoleon syndrome), but neither was very effective. The sad part is, I would love to have Republicans like Mica around today. I don't think very many moderates exist any longer.

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The express lanes will have a flat rate of $.50 per exit as mentioned above. (Total cost to go west $3.00, to go east $3.50 to start.) After a set time they will go to dynamic pricing. Look for the express lanes to open within the next 2 to 3 weeks.

Lynx will be able to use the express lanes. This should really help with timing of the I-4 routes.

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20 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

The hagiography built around John Mica and his bad toupees borders on complete nonsense.

Just two examples: if he was indeed “Mr. Transportation”, standing astride federal largesse to roads and transit, ask yourself this: why is Orlando the largest MSA to have to build its beltway with precious few interstate highway dollars? Where was John? Nowhere. Let’s also note Orlando doesn’t have a “beltway”, it has a “crooked as a dog’s hind leg -way” because they had to build it on the cheap. Thanks, John!

Also, ask yourself this, when the feds were offering to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the region for light rail, where was John? Do you think Tip O’Neill or Teddy Kennedy or, heck, Mitt Romney would have let a local backbench politician from THEIR OWN PARTY derail  one of the biggest transportation projects in the region? Where was John?

John was too tied up in his social issues to be a transportation titan. He was also a lousy politician. It was well known how purple his suburban district was becoming and he refused to moderate his social issue stances to win re-election in the ‘burbs.

He and his buddy, Bill “I Saved Your Navy Base” McCollum, were equally less than competent and did the region few favors.

LOL.  that's like a Greek or Latin root for "saint" I think.  brilliant.  I'll be sure to reference you next time I use "hagiography."

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16 hours ago, Jernigan said:

Wanted to give credit to FDOT and the SDG group.  They said it would be 6.5 years back in 2015 and ended up only a few months behind. Got lucky with no major hurricanes and some make up time during COVID but still - pretty impressive for a project of that size.  Some kitchen remodels see longer delays.

true, but when they originally said they were planning for construction to start for the I-4 overhaul, they kept pushing it back and back several years before actually starting.  And when they did those exit to exit lanes between Lee Rd. and Ivanhoe, and the ones between 408 and John Young, those were like a concession and quick fix b/c Orlando wasn't even in the mix for the big reconstruction that Tampa saw being done back in 1997 era on 275 and I-4.  After all those delays, they still decided to do the reconstruction with Lexus lanes.  I feel like we got duped; Lexus lanes should have been a concession for an earlier construction, not after the project got delayed for so many years.  I feel like Orlando representation for free lanes plus the overhaul was simply nonexistent.  

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6 hours ago, jrs2 said:

true, but when they originally said they were planning for construction to start for the I-4 overhaul, they kept pushing it back and back several years before actually starting.  And when they did those exit to exit lanes between Lee Rd. and Ivanhoe, and the ones between 408 and John Young, those were like a concession and quick fix b/c Orlando wasn't even in the mix for the big reconstruction that Tampa saw being done back in 1997 era on 275 and I-4.  After all those delays, they still decided to do the reconstruction with Lexus lanes.  I feel like we got duped; Lexus lanes should have been a concession for an earlier construction, not after the project got delayed for so many years.  I feel like Orlando representation for free lanes plus the overhaul was simply nonexistent.  

All for the managed lanes.  No other way to ensure free flow of traffic besides cost.  The sooner its dynamic the better.

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15 hours ago, Jernigan said:

All for the managed lanes.  No other way to ensure free flow of traffic besides cost.  The sooner its dynamic the better.

oh, so am I.  Chicago has the express/ reversible lanes on 94 for some time now.  the fact that they charge for it here is what I'm against.

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On 1/28/2022 at 12:22 PM, jrs2 said:

oh, so am I.  Chicago has the express/ reversible lanes on 94 for some time now.  the fact that they charge for it here is what I'm against.

I was originally against it, as well.  I experienced the lanes in Miami before/after the opening (pre-COVID) and really noticed a lot of difference.  I've never used the pay lanes and I've still benefited.  Other people wanted to pay and I got the win.

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