Tallahassee, Fla. - The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), working with the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), has implemented a limited Emergency Shoulder Use (ESU) plan for Hurricane Irma evacuations on I-4 from 50th Street in Tampa to east of SR 429/Western Beltway in Orlando. This plan is anticipated to assist the large number of motorists evacuating from Florida's west coast. Motorists may only use the left shoulder when directed by law enforcement and highway signs.

         There is no contraflow or one-way operation in use on Florida state roadways

         No other state roadways are currently approved for shoulder use

         Although there are heavy pockets of evacuation traffic in some areas; traffic is flowing on this section of roadway

         Law enforcement urges motorists to use caution when driving on the shoulder right shoulder use is prohibited

         FDOT has 13 Traffic Management Centers where hundreds of DOT workers are monitoring traffic cameras 24/7 to ensure traffic flows continue and evacuations proceed without interruption.

www.fdot.gov