Overnight I-4 ramp closures planned in Seminole County for Wekiva Parkway work

Seminole County drivers heading east on Interstate 4 will lose two major overnight exits, with the ramp to southbound State Road 417 at Exit 101-B and the ramp to State Road 46 at Exit 101-D both set to close from 10:30 p.m. Monday to 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. FDOT says the ramps are scheduled to reopen Tuesday morning, but the work could shift if weather or other problems intervene.

The timing matters for anyone moving through the Sanford-Lake Mary corridor before dawn, especially overnight commuters, delivery trucks and freight traffic trying to reach the SR 46 corridor. During the closure, drivers bound for either exit will be sent to County Road 46A at Exit 101-A and then to Rinehart Road to continue the trip. FDOT is also closing one lane of southbound SR 417 between Town Center Boulevard and Rinehart Road during the same overnight window for bridge work, adding another pinch point to a stretch already used heavily by local traffic.

FDOT says the closures are needed to complete signage work tied to the Wekiva Parkway project, a long-running regional highway buildout that has already reshaped travel patterns in northern Seminole County and neighboring Lake and Orange counties. The agency is urging motorists to slow down, follow posted detours and expect delays as the overnight work moves through one of the county’s busiest interchange areas.

The Wekiva Parkway is more than a sign swap. Project officials describe it as a 25-mile toll road connecting Interstate 4 and State Road 417, part of a broader effort to complete Central Florida’s beltway while protecting the Wekiva River area. The project has been estimated at $1.6 billion, including about $500 million in non-toll road improvements such as widening seven miles of SR 46 in Lake and Seminole counties, rebuilding the US 441/SR 46 interchange in Mount Dora, shifting the CR 46A connection and adding a 10-mile multi-use trail. The final portion opened on January 27, 2024.

The latest closure also sits inside a process that has spanned decades. The Wekiva Parkway PD&E study began in 2005, FHWA approved the project in May 2012 with a Finding of No Significant Impact, and CFX says the planning process included 10 public workshops and hearings and more than 400 stakeholder meetings. That history is why a short overnight shutdown on I-4 is not an isolated maintenance job, but another step in a long corridor project that continues to affect how Seminole County moves before sunrise.