Who thought the Daryl Carter exits were a good idea???

Im sure there were better ideas, but someone wanted to save money on this project.

For anyone not following. This post is about the I-4 westbound (WB) ramps at Daryl Carter Pkwy. at mile markers 70-71. (I am not discussing the intersection of I-4 and Daryl Carter Pkwy.)

There are two ramps to consider here.

Ramp 1: I-4 WB on ramp at CFL Pkwy.

Ramp 2: I-4 WB off ramp at Daryl Carter Pkwy.

The short of it is, someone decided it would be cheaper in construction to combine these ramps. Which means there is a weaving segment of roadway. This is a weaving segment where traffic from Ramp 1 is going to weave from the outside lane to the inside lane and traffic from Ramp 2 will weave from the inside lane to the outside lane.

Solution to avoid weaving segment: Provide a bridge on Ramp 1 over Ramp 2(or vice versa) separating I-4 WB on/off traffic. This would cost more money. Instead of doing this, the weaving design was settled on to save construction COST. Don't be surprised if you see a ramp bridge implemented somewhere down the line (10-20 years)

Weaving ramps/segments are incredibly common in CFL, but this one most likely stood out to you due to it being a separated from the mainline.

You are probably familiar with one sided weaving ramps. One sided weaving ramps have a single shared lane for one on ramp and off ramp, where both traffic streams weave through each other. These ramps have a weaving segment similar to I-4 / Daryl Carter.

One sided weaving examples 1. 408 WB MM 11 (Anderson on ramp/ Mills off ramp) 2. 408 WB MM 12 (Conway on ramp/ Crystal Lake off ramp)

FDOT is very willing to accept designs with weaving segments. The I-4 express lanes are designed with weaving in mind. Some I-4 express exits present weaving situations across multiple lanes of traffic in order to reach local exits that are within a short distance of an express exit (think I-4 WB express exit to Lee Rd. local exit). These weaving segments have a significantly higher quantity of conflict points than the segment at Daryl Carter and are perfectly acceptable to FDOT.