The Florida Highway Patrol will make a decision by 6:30 tonight as to whether to re-open 14 miles of Interstate 4 in Polk County that was shut down early Wednesday after a massive 70-car pileup.

Department of Transportation spokeswoman Cindy Clemmons-Adente said repairs to 650-foot stretch of the highway are mostly complete and workers had only to finish laying down the white striping.

“If everything looks good, the Florida Highway Patrol will open the highway,” she said.

The road was closed at about 5:45 a.m. Wednesday and crews started to repair the most damaged section of highway, just east of State Road 559, at about 10:30 p.m.

Work was halted a few hours later when another thick blanket of fog rolled in, like the one that triggered the crashes the day before.

It’s not certain how long I-4 will remain open. Clemmons-Adente said more fog is forecast for overnight and that the highway patrol could make a decision to close the interstate.

- Rich Shopes

Get Weekly Deals | Write a letter to the editor | Subscribe and get two weeks free | Place an Ad