Major Buena Vista Drive Roadwork Begins July 14, 2014

As Downtown Disney paves the way for Disney Springs, July 14 marks a significant milestone as work on Buena Vista Drive shifts from the preparation phase to a major roadwork phase. This work will be even more visible and will continue through the duration of the expansion project. Guests driving on Buena Vista Drive can expect potential delays. In addition, speed limits along Buena Vista Drive are now reduced to 35 MPH near Downtown Disney. Continue reading for more information.

This phase of roadwork will include the following (CLICK HERE for the full-size version of the map):

• Medians will be paved;
• Concrete barrier walls will be used to shift lanes to one side during heavy construction;
• Buena Vista Drive will be reduced from three lanes to two lanes going both directions along portions of the road from Bonnet Creek Parkway to Hotel Plaza Boulevard.

Access to Downtown Disney by vehicle will be shifted to:

• Entrance 2 across from the Hess Station;
• Entrance 5 across from Typhoon Lagoon;
• Various entrances and turn lanes may be closed during different phases of this work;
• The SunTrust building intersection will be reduced to right-turn-in/right-turn-out only for cars.

Some sidewalk access will also change during this phase of work including:

• Downtown Disney side of Buena Vista Drive:
• The sidewalk directly in front of the new parking garage (across the street from Team Disney) will close permanently to pedestrian traffic.
• Team Disney side of Buena Vista Drive:
• The sidewalk between the main Team Disney entrance and the Team Disney back entrance along Buena Vista Drive will close permanently.

To support this growth and make the area even easier to access, Reedy Creek Improvement District will be enhancing the roadways. Future improvements will include widening Buena Vista Drive to 10 lanes, adding dedicated bus lanes and creating convenient pedestrian bridges that will allow Guests to safely cross over Buena Vista Drive to the Downtown Disney/Disney Springs area.

UPDATE: According to the website of a contractor (Jr. Davis Construction Company, Inc.), Jr. Davis has been awarded this project by the Walt Disney World Resort. The total cost of their contract is $41,310,070.

Want to see the current state of Downtown Disney? Then, check out our latest photo-update by clicking here!