I4 to Tampa area

[abner1776]

Ok, I am use to traffic commuting around Boston, but last Friday on the I4 was...well...

So with Ft Myers too far away(so I thought) I bought a ticket to watch he Red Sox play the Jays in Dunedin last Friday. I rented a car from the Car Care Center and headed west on the I4 at 10 am allowing 3 hours to cover 80 miles or so for a 1pm start. I arrived in my seat at the end of the 1st inning as it took 3+ hours to get to Dunedin. Looking at my iPhone and the traffic app and knowing I had to meet my daughter at 6pm at OKW, I stayed until the end of the 4th inning(2:30pm) and headed back to WDW. I pulled into the Care Care Center at 5:45 and just made it to OKW to meet her bus. 7+ hours of "driving" for 90 minutes of spring baseball...what fun !!!

Is this the way I4 is all the time or did I just have a "bad hair day" on the I4 ???

 

[katallo]

We've been here 3 weeks. I 4 had been an absolute mess. We live close to DC and it's been a close comparison.

 

[goofy4tink]

I4 is miserable. Sometimes you hit it right, and it's okay. But, most of the time the traffic is just plain nuts. And this coming from someone who has no issues driving 128!!!

 

[ParrotBill]

I have to agree. I have notice the last few years that I-4 has become quite dangerous. People try to "speed weave" very fast through lanes and traffic rubber bands without warning. Many accidents and disabled cars all along the highway at all times of day. Drive safely!

 

[sharadoc]

We use 417 from 95 to WDW, so we avoid I4 all together. Not sure how to do that to Tampa though.

 

[mousegear]

We were on I4 last Friday trying to get to WDW. It was absolutely crazy and I have to say that it was as bad as DC traffic. We need to drive back this Friday and looking for alternate routes because I cannot take I4. It just drained me out completely.

 

[DOOM1001]

I've been doing 10-12 trips a year to Orlando for close to 20 years living in South Florida where traffic is pretty much as bad as it gets.In the last year or two I've noticed that I-4 has been getting really bad,like almost worse than I-95 through Miami.On my last visit this past weekend there wasn't a time that I drove I-4 or saw it from a nearby street that the traffic wasn't a disaster,even Sunday night between Disney and US27,normally a 5-10 minute drive took me 30 minutes.There are a lot of factors involved,obviously schools in Florida are out this week for spring break in addition to college spring breaks,tons of events in town,the Winter Park art festival,the 3 day Country music festival in Kissimmee,spring training,the golf tournament,etc...And these aren't even the festivals and events at the parks like the Flower and Garden festival or Mardi Gras at Universal.I've learned over the years all the ground street shortcuts to avoid I-4 and if possible using some of the toll highways to avoid I-4 as the traffic is usually 100x better.As far as getting between Tampa and Orlando I've yet to find a good solid alternate to I-4.Between the east coast and Orlando there are more options like the beachline or 192.Yesterday I had a race in Viera and had tickets for the Braves/Tigers game at Disney WWoS,I left my hotel in Melbourne at 11am after showering after the race so I had 2 hours to get to the game.I was certain I would make the first pitch by taking 192 which had good traffic up until St.Cloud where the traffic increased and I seemed to be getting every red light.I got to the game in the bottom of the first,not as bad as your experience to see the game in Dunedin but it just shows that this time of year with so many people in town the traffic is really,really bad.

 

[NotUrsula]

You can avoid I-4 from the Lakeland area to the west coast if you really want to, but in the area between Lakeland and Championsgate there is pretty much no other option. It's been much worse in the Orlando metro since that road project started.

 

[Prose]

I took I4 from Tampa to WDW in June - I left super early in the morning, and came back after the evening rush, so traffic wasn't terrible. But OMG!!! do people drive fast!