OrangeObserver.com reports, last Monday, December 16, the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) declared its newest flex lanes operational on a stretch of SR 429 (the Daniel Webster Western Beltway). The section now active runs from Tilden Road to the Florida’s Turnpike junction. By early-to-mid 2025, the entire facility, covering the 13 miles from Tilden Road to the SR 414 junction, will be open for use. The lanes have 26 gantries for the display of directional and speed limit digital signs, and their use is controlled from a regional traffic management center. The Florida Highway Patrol will police motorists’ use of lanes.
The flex lanes are located on the left shoulders of the tollway in each direction. For the time being, CFX will temporarily open them to traffic when an incident makes one or more adjacent lanes unavailable. They can also be used to expedite evacuations during a climate emergency. Eventually, CFX can use the flex lanes to increase peak-period traffic flow, something that isn’t immediately contemplated because of SR 429’s recent widening. CFX opened its first flex lanes on SR 417 (the Central Florida GreeneWay) in the fall.
CFX spokesperson Brian Hutchings notes that a unique aspect of the SR 429 flex lanes is that they were incorporated into the design of the tollway widening project instead of being a retrofit.