ORLANDO, Fla. — The Central Florida Expressway Authority says its flex lanes are a game changer for drivers in central Florida.
Many commuters are familiar with the digital signs that warn them about lane closures and the opening of the shoulder. Channel 9 talked to the agency about the program’s success and where we can expect to see more flex lanes next.
“We are really excited about what I am seeing,” said Central Florida Expressway Authority’s Brian Hutchings. He says that flex lanes are reducing backups and preventing secondary crashes.
Since the Fall, CFX has activated the flex lanes on the 417 between I-Drive and John Young Parkway and everything has been going smoothly so far.
Hutchings continues, “The recovery of getting the road back up to speed is more quickly than areas without the flex lanes, and also that people are using the flex lanes as intended.” Recently, they activated another section on the 417 between John Young Parkway and Narcoossee.
On the 429, flex lanes are now open from Tilden Road to South of the turnpike. Later this year, they plan to activate the remaining sections all the way up to the 414.
Hutchings says, “So now we have 18 miles, 417, that are activated with Flex lanes, and then later this spring, we anticipate activating that remaining three miles to the 528 interchange.”
He continues, “We only have so much capacity to add lanes, so it’s really using technology to make the best use of the lanes that we have.” CFX is now teaming up with UCF to review the data and assess how the lanes are performing.
CFX is running two studies aimed at expanding the 417 between 528 and 408, as well as the 429 from Tilden Road to Siedel Road.
Both projects will incorporate flex lanes.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2025 Cox Media Group
