FDOT planning to open new I-4 rest stop in Sanford
LONGWOOD, Fla. - A rest area along Interstate 4 in Longwood can only accommodate 30 semi-tractor trailer trucks. There is a plan to build a new location in Sanford with 132 spaces.
For residents who live near the existing rest stop, this project couldn’t come soon enough.
"We’ve been fighting the diesel fumes, the noise," said Marianne King, who said the trucks cause big headaches – even more so since the interstate was widened. "With the expansion, I can now see the trucks from my backyard."
"We live close enough that we hear the trucks downshifting and going into the truck stop," said another resident, Harry Jaegerr.
The new truck parking area will be located southeast of the I-4 and U.S. Highway 17-92 interchange. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) said it will sit on 17 acres of land.
Seminole County Commissioner Lee Constantine said it’s something that is needed.
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"With these being added, it’s safety for the truck drivers. It will alleviate concerns for the community and give them a much better place to park," he said, adding that it would address overcrowding at the rest stop. "We had to put those 'No Parking' signs all over I-4 because they [truck drivers] were parking along I-4. It was dangerous."
The Young family has property near the future site and is hoping FDOT buys their land.
"It would be beneficial for us if they included us in the takeover," said Karen Young, who lives near the new truck site. "Otherwise, it leaves us sitting next to a truck stop."
This would be one of five new truck stops in Central Florida. The U.S. Department of Transportation approved $180 million in grant funds to add more than 900 truck parking spaces along I-4.
The design should be completed by 2026, and construction would start that summer.
FDOT said there are no plans to close the Longwood rest stop, but are hopeful the new stop in Sanford would alleviate the congestion.