Maitland Boulevard expansion moves forward

As work continues on Interstate 4’s “ultimate” makeover, plans to give Maitland Boulevard a facelift of its own are being finalized by the state.

On Tuesday, June 23, the Florida Department of Transportation presented 60-percent completed plans for the Maitland Boulevard widening project to residents in a meeting at Maitland City Hall.

The estimated $10.5 million makeover will expand Maitland Boulevard from four lanes to six, taking it from “suburban” to “urban” as described in the plans.

“If you think that traffic is bad now with the existing four lane road, we’re actually trying to plan improvements for 20 years in the future and that’s what’s pushing it to the six lanes,” said consultant project manager Steve Kreidt.

Currently, Maitland Boulevard carries roughly 50,000 commuters from Interstate 4 to U.S. Highway 17-92 east and west every day.

Kreidt said the road widening will help traffic flow more smoothly as the number of cars traveling the route increases over the next two decades.

Existing traffic signals at Maitland Concourse and Maitland Avenue will be modified in the project, changing the configuration of lanes as well as adding to them. This includes an additional northbound lane on Maitland Avenue, and a third lane on Maitland Boulevard allowing drivers to go straight through the Maitland Avenue intersection on to the 17-92 overpass.

Medians will be expanded throughout the project area, running 1.2 miles from I-4 to Maitland Avenue, as will sidewalks to connect Maitland Avenue to Greenwood Trail.

Maitland’s Transportation Advisory Board will discuss the existing plans at the board’s July 9 meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Maitland City Council Chambers, with a public period available for citizen input. FDOT is also accepting public input and questions about the project through its website at http://bit.ly/1R4VXPP.

“If you don’t have questions right now, you will,” said Maitland Mayor Dale McDonald at the City Council’s June 22 meeting. He encouraged residents to take a close look at the plans and have their voices be heard before the reconfigurations are finalized.

Kreidt said plans for the Maitland Boulevard widening will be at 90 percent in the spring of next year, with final plans and construction set to take place in 2018.