After complaints from nearby homeowners, the Florida of Transportation has decided to back off of plans to expand two Interstate 4 rest areas and see if highway users can do without them altogether.

According to published reports, beginning April 15, the eastbound and westbound rest areas near Longmont, Fla., between will be shut down for two months. Westbound travelers will have to drive another 49 miles -- to Polk County -- to find a rest stop. Eastbound, there is a small, unattended rest area with no facilities near Daytona Beach. There are no commercial truckstops nearby.
The rest stops each can handle about 18 tractor-trailers and 24 cars, but they are often at or near capacity. When the DOT announced plans to increase their size to handle 60 tractor-trailers and 70 cars and replace existing bathroom buildings with larger facilities, residents living nearby complained about the potential for increased noise, pollution and crime.
After seeing what happens during the closure, the agency could decide to go ahead with the expansion, let the rest areas continue operating as they do now or close them.