ORLANDO, Fla. – The Wekiva Parkway Section 8 Interchange Design-Build Project has earned a National Award of Merit from the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) in the Transportation (Other than Aviation) category. This award recognizes the project team’s achievement in surpassing cost, schedule, and quality goals through innovative design-build practices. As a Merit winner, the project is now an automatic nominee for the highest honor in its category, the National Award of Excellence, which will be announced at the 2025 Design-Build Conference & Expo in Las Vegas on Nov. 6.
The project is a $274.5 million design-build effort in Seminole County and represents the final segment of the Orlando beltway. The DBIA award is the latest in a series of honors for Wekiva Parkway Section 8. The project has also received:
- Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) Highway/Bridge Award of Merit in 2025 Regional Best Projects Competition
- Florida Transportation Builders’ Association (FTBA) Best in Construction Award for Design-Build 2025
- 2025 Outstanding Design-Build or Construction Manager at Risk Project Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida (ACEC-FL) and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)
“We’re honored to receive this award, which reflects the hard work and collaboration of our entire design-build team,” said DRMP Senior Vice President of Alternative Delivery TJ Lallathin, PE, DBIA. “It shows the great results we can achieve when we work together.”
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 Wekiva Parkway Section 8
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.
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.
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.
