Southbound Kirkman Rd. exit on westbound I-4 changing to right exit instead of left

ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - The new right-hand exit from I-4 to Kirkman Road is officially open to traffic.

The FDOT reports that a new westbound Interstate 4 (I-4) exit to southbound Kirkman Road (State Road 435) has opened Monday, October 30th, morning.

Previously, motorists would exit on the left to southbound Kirkman Road from westbound I-4. 

Now, motorists will exit nearly half of a mile sooner on the right. All westbound I-4 motorists wishing to exit onto either direction on Kirkman Road will use Exit 75.

From there, motorists will follow signage on the ramp to either go southbound (Exit 75B) or northbound Kirkman Road (Exit 75A). 

Now traffic is flowing on the new ramp to southbound Kirkman Road. I-4 Ultimate Project spokesman Dave Parks said it'll be much safer for drivers.

“Especially in this busy tourist area, drivers are expecting a right-hand exit, and at the last moment veering across two or three lanes of traffic to get to that left exit,” Parks said, “so by moving it to the right hand side, we can set a more traditional driver expectation.”

FDOT says the new ramp will also allow for greater capacity and free flow of motorists onto Kirkman Road. 

Parks went on to say that drivers should be patient, the change may make for a lot of confused tourists near exit 75.

“We have so many out-of-town visitors really relying on their GPS systems and it can take a month, six weeks, for those navigation companies to update their maps to include these new changes,” he said.

FDOT workers removed the sign blocking the new ramp just after 5 am.

Crews will reportedly start working on demolishing the old ramp and making room to realign eastbound I-4. 

FDOT says about 12,000 drivers use Exit 75 every day. The interchange is still under construction which is set to wrap up in late 2018 or early 2019.

View or download a map of the new ramp here.