ORLANDO, Fla. – The Wekiva Parkway Section 8 Interchange project, a $274.5 million design-build effort in Seminole County, has been honored with the Highway/Bridge Award of Merit in Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) 2025 Regional Best Projects competition.
This annual competition is now part of ENR’s expanded Texas & Southeast super region, which recognizes top design and construction achievements across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico.
The ENR award is the latest in a series of accolades for Wekiva Parkway Section 8. The project has also received the Florida Transportation Builders’ Association (FTBA) Best in Construction Award for Design-Build excellence and the 2025 Outstanding Design-Build or Construction Manager at Risk Project Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida (ACEC Florida) and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).
“It’s an honor to see this project recognized by ENR Southeast alongside so many exceptional projects,” said DRMP Senior Vice President of Alternative Delivery TJ Lallathin, PE, DBIA. “From design through delivery, this project is a reflection of innovation, great teamwork, and a shared vision to enhance infrastructure that truly serves the region.”
Wekiva Parkway Section 8 is the final piece of the 25-mile limited access toll facility designed to complete the missing link in the beltway around Orlando. This section includes a 2.63-mile limited access toll road from Orange Boulevard to east of Rinehart Road and a new system-to-system interchange that connects I-4, SR 417, and SR 429, effectively completing the beltway and improving traffic flow throughout Central Florida.
DRMP served as the lead designer for this project. In addition to the new toll facility, Section 8 features 2 miles of reconstruction along I-4 to accommodate future express lanes for the I-4 Beyond the Ultimate project. Wekiva Parkway Section 8 includes 20 new bridges and two bridge widenings, using both concrete Florida-I Beams (FIBs) and steel plate girders across single and multi-span structures.
The innovative interchange design not only eliminated the missing link in the regional beltway but also relieved traffic congestion, enhanced safety and operations for the traveling public, and reduced long-term maintenance costs and overall impacts for the client.
The project also includes 25 stormwater management facilities, all-electronic tolling, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), lighting, signage, pavement markings, signals, and complex traffic control plans.
Innovative design and construction methods produced $75 million in cost savings, improved safety and traffic operations, reduced bridge deck area by 200,000 square feet, preserved four existing bridges, and minimized long-term maintenance needs and environmental impacts.
Sustainable design and construction practices further reduced resource use, impervious surface area, and preserved wetlands and conservation easements wherever possible.
DRMP partnered on this project with The Lane Construction Corporation (prime contractor) and subconsultants Ardaman & Associates, Inc., BCC Engineering, Inc., Bentley Group, Inc., Brindley Pieters & Associates, Inc. (BPA), Ardurra Group, Inc., Florida Bridge & Transportation (FBT), Osiris 9 Consultant, LLC, and Terracon Consultants, Inc.
About DRMP
DRMP is a multi-discipline firm serving clients in the public, private and industrial sectors in the development of infrastructure and has been in business since 1977. DRMP currently employs 700 professionals in 23 office locations spread strategically across our service area. Today, DRMP is ranked among Engineering News-Record’s “Top 500 Design Firms” in the United States. For more information, please visit www.drmp.com.
