Central Polk Parkway - Update

[edwaleni]

The Ledger reports on an updated status on the new Central Polk Parkway

https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2025/01/11/state-agency-considers-route-for-toll-road-in-eastern-polk-county/77482533007/

State is zeroing in on a route for a high-speed alternative to US 27 in eastern Polk County



Nancy Bissett hoped she had heard the last of plans for a toll road placed near the plot of land she and her husband have called home since the 1980s.

Bissett was dismayed to receive a recent notice of an upcoming meeting at which a state agency will provide details on a possible extension of the Polk Parkway from the Lake Wales area north toward Interstate 4.

"I was not expecting that to come back," Bissett said in a weary voice.

Why not?

"I'm an optimist," she replied with a rueful laugh. "I'm fast changing that position."

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise is conducting an alternative corridor evaluation for the Central Polk Parkway East from State Road 60 to U.S. 17-92. The process will consider possible routes for what the agency, a division of the Florida Department of Transportation, describes as a tolled, limited-access highway.

The Turnpike Enterprise will hold a virtual meeting Tuesday at 6 p.m. A public meeting will take place Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Tom Fellows Community Center, 207 North Blvd. W., in Davenport.

That meeting will employ "an informal, open-house format," according to the Turnpike Enterprise. Registration is encouraged but not required for in-person attendance.

First phase of planning
A map on the Turnpike Enterprise's website shows the project divided into two segments, represented by bands of green and blue. The southern section of the corridor study area begins at SR 60, west of Lake Wales.

The potential course covers a wide swath north of SR 60 and crosses U.S. 27 and State Road 17 (Scenic Highway) near Mountain Lake. The corridor then runs due north, paralleling SR 17 to the east, before connecting with U.S. 17-92 between Davenport Boulevard and Ernie Caldwell Boulevard.

The second segment, a narrower strip on the map, runs along the west side of U.S. 17-92 north beyond Ronald Reagan Parkway to the county border, where the map shows a "future Poinciana Connector." That road, an extension of the Poinciana Parkway (State Road 538), is shown connecting with I-4 at the junction with State Road 429.

Access points will be evaluated at U.S. 17-92, the future Poinciana Connector "and another location to be determined," a summary on the website states.

The Turnpike Enterprise is in the project-development and environment-study phase for the northern section, the last step before road design. Noise studies will be conducted in summer 2025. A "no build" alternative will be analyzed and compared against the construction plans during the PD&E study, the agency's website says.

The Central Polk Parkway East "would serve as a high-speed, alternate travel route to US 27, where heavy traffic congestion regularly impacts the communities now and is forecasted to get worse in the future due to population growth and increased travel demand," the overview says.

Construction continues recently on the Central Polk Parkway near C.R. 540 (Winter Lake Road) between Lakeland and Winter Haven. Florida's Turnpike Enterprise is considering possible routes for an eastern extension of the Central Polk Parkway.
The evaluation, scheduled for completion by the end of this year, is part of the planning phase, the first of five phases in FDOT's project development process. The summary does not offer timelines for the subsequent phases.

The alternative corridor evaluation will establish the project's purpose and need, document the general environmental setting for the project, develop corridor alternatives and solicit community feedback and select a feasible corridor for further evaluation in a project development and environment study, according to the website.

The Turnpike Enterprise lists these needs for the project: accommodating 2050 transportation demands, improving regional connectivity, enhancing freight mobility and economic competitiveness and enhancing safety and emergency evacuation.

In its summary, the state agency notes that Polk County is one of the fastest-growing in the country. The increased travel demands have spawned congestion on I-4, U.S. 27 and U.S.17-92, the overview states. The description also cites Polk County's 81 million square feet of freight-related land use.

Polk County Commissioner Bill Braswell welcomes the corridor study.

"This project needs to be expedited because of its importance to the county," Braswell said by email. "This portion of the CPP would be the best solution to the Hwy 27 congestion in Polk. Hwy 27 cannot be widened due to the fact there is not enough right of way available."

Braswell said that the east side of U.S. 27 holds thousands of acres of dormant citrus groves, and developers are targeting the area.

"If DOT waits to acquire the right of way for the east leg of CPP it will cost billions," Braswell wrote. "DOT needs to coordinate with Polk TPO (Transportation Planning Organization) and get this project moving forward. The county has submitted our recommendation on where it should go."

Long history of discussions
The 24-mile Polk Parkway, which now stretches from I-4 near the Polk-Hillsborough County line to I-4 just east of Florida Polytechnic University, opened in 1998. Even as the toll road was being built, state and local officials talked of potential extensions, said Marian Ryan, a longtime conservation chair for the Sierra Club Ancient Islands Group in Polk County.

The Turnpike Enterprise is now overseeing construction of the first planned leg of the Central Polk Parkway, a 6.5-mile spur jutting from the State Road 540 exit (Winter Lake Road) southeast to U.S. 17. Construction began in 2023 and is scheduled for completion in 2029. The agency plans to extend the segment from U.S. 17 to SR 60 near Connersville Road.

Public discussions of an eastern leg of the parkway date to at least 2008. Proponents at the time billed it as a long-range alternative to U.S. 27 in east Polk. In later years, backers said the extension would support the Central Florida Intermodal Logistics Center, a train-to-trucks exchange that opened in 2014 in Winter Haven.

Ryan has copies of letters she wrote to state agencies in 2009, when she attended public meetings to discuss the planned extension. Ryan opposes the latest concept for a toll road paralleling U.S. 27, just as she argued against earlier proposals.

"The powers that be have been wanting a road like this for years," Ryan said. "The thing of it is, is that their original argument on the eastern leg was to facilitate freight traffic from the ILC. That was their original argument. So, which is it?"

In opposing the plan, Ryan notes that the proposed corridor traverses the Lake Wales Ridge, a remnant of the original peninsula from centuries past, when water covered most of Florida. The 100-mile ridge contains distinctive habitats that foster rare and imperiled animals and plants, such as Florida scrub jays and eastern indigo snakes.

Bissett and her husband, Bill, live east of Haines City, near Snell Creek at the western edge of the Lake Marion Creek Wildlife Management Area, which is mostly hardwood swamp. The couple have operated a native plant nursery, The Natives, are their property for about 40 years.

Bissett worries that the road project could threaten Snell Creek, a rarity in Florida as a seepage stream, an intermittent or seasonal creek with clear or lightly colored water from shallow groundwater seepage. She also has an affinity for the dry habitat of the Lake Wales Ridge.

Among the rare species found on the ridge is one that Bissett and a friend discovered, Dicerandra modesta, also known blushing scrub balm for its pink petals.

"It's the same map as last time," Bissett said, "and last time, we gave many good reasons why it should not occur there. So, I'm really surprised they're still considering doing the same thing all over again."

Bissett wondered whether state officials retained the comments and material presented at public meetings for previous studies on a possible parkway extension.

"I guess that's one of my major concerns, is — have they listened to what we said last time?" Bissett said. "Do we need to say it again? Are they looking at any of it, or are they just plowing ahead?"

The Turnpike Enterprise had not responded to questions from The Ledger as of Friday afternoon.

Ryan Kordek, executive director of the Polk Transportation Planning Organization, said that the eastern extension has been part of the group's long-range plans for at least 15 years and remains a high priority.

"One of the ways that we're looking at it is this could be obviously a high-speed, reliable corridor in that part of the county, where maybe in the past, or decades ago, U.S. 27 was that corridor," Kordek said. "But obviously the situation has changed on U.S. 27, with all the growth and development, increase in traffic and so on."

The Central Polk Parkway is being constructed near Thornhill Road at the entrance to Marshall Hampton Reserve. Florida's Turnpike Enterprise is in the first phase of planning for a possible extension from the Lake Wales area north toward Interstate 4.
Daily traffic volume on U.S. 27 near Haines City has roughly tripled in the past 20 years to more than 70,000 vehicles, Kordek said. A study conducted by Florida's DOT found that it would be too costly to add lanes to U.S. 27, he said.

"And a new corridor, like the Central Polk Parkway, could actually be cheaper and less cost than widening U.S. 27," he said. "And it's not even a one-to-one kind of thing. I mean, to widen U.S. 27 really wouldn't get you that much. You'd still have all the same driveway connections and intersections and traffic lights."

Kordek said he believes the state will consider residents' input from the initial project development process.

"It's not new; it's not starting from scratch," he said. "It took them years to do the initial project development environmental study for the Central Polk Parkway. But a lot of that is still being considered. And a lot of those comments – for instance, the environmental lands, the current conservation areas, like Lake Marion Creek and the various state, federal, county conservation areas — to the maximum extent feasible, they're trying to stay out of those areas."

Bissett said she thinks the apparent need for the toll road could have been avoided.

"We have not had very good growth planning in Polk County, and I would say that there's one good reason why they now feel it's necessary again to do something about traffic," Bissett said. "Years ago, there was the Central Florida Regional Planning Council. It seems like everything they came up with at that time has been scrapped. And again, it's a free-for-all – build wherever you can and then let somebody else figure out where the road should go."

Ryan said she always prefers improving existing roads over building new ones. She said that toll roads are often billed as "limited access," but they spur development that prompts the need for more and more exits.

"You can't build your way out of congestion," Ryan said. "And every time we build a new road, it's full."

Why has the route changed?
The corridor evaluation "will identify existing social, cultural, natural, and physical resources within the study area, and seek to avoid and minimize impacts to the greatest extent possible," the Turnpike Enterprise's summary says. Potential environmental effects and the need for mitigation will be further evaluated in the project development and environment study phase.

The overview acknowledges that the Lakes Wales Ridge "provides valuable federal, and state listed species habitat." The study will include extensive regulatory agency review, the Turnpike Enterprise said.

Braswell said he is not concerned about the highway's potential for environmental damage. The inclusion of federal money in the funding formula means that it will require a comprehensive environmental study, he said.

Ryan was less sanguine. The only species endemic to the Lake Wales Ridge with federal protection is the sand skink, she said, and a study would only determine how much state agencies must pay for mitigation – that is, preservation of land elsewhere to compensate for habitat destroyed.

Even the rarest plants on the ridge receive no federal protection, Ryan said.

David Price, president of Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, also recalled participating in previous discussions of a potential toll road running near U.S. 27. Price noticed a difference in the corridor study area for this one.

Price shared copies of maps from a plan approved by FDOT in 2012 for an eastern parkway extension. The maps show the highway crossing U.S. 27 farther north, just south of Thompson Nursery Road/Chalet Suzanne Road.

In previous planning sessions, Price expressed concerns about noise intrusion and the alternation of the view from Iron Mountain, site of Bok Tower and one of the highest points in peninsular Florida.

"I'm just concerned why they're moving this over into this area," Price said. "When it was approved, it was documented. It has been on maps for 13 years now, where this road was to go, and my point is, I think they just need to go back to the old plan."

Price said that he suspects the route has shifted because of planned development west of U.S. 27 that Lake Wales has approved since previous discussions of the corridor path.

Registration for the meetings can be made at www.CentralPolkParkwayEast.com. Citizens may also submit comments on the site.

[NJRoadfan]

Where do they expect this traffic to go on the north end? Even with the Poinciana Connector, you are still funneling traffic onto the already overburdened I-4 and US-17/92. The bulk of traffic want to go towards Orlando, and that isn't going to happen unless someone expands capacity across Reedy Creek. Northeast Polk County is basically an island with few connections to the northeast as a result.

[ElishaGOtis]

Where do they expect this traffic to go on the north end? Even with the Poinciana Connector, you are still funneling traffic onto the already overburdened I-4 and US-17/92. The bulk of traffic want to go towards Orlando, and that isn't going to happen unless someone expands capacity across Reedy Creek. Northeast Polk County is basically an island with few connections to the northeast as a result.

Maybe Express Lanes? C/D connection with 417?

[edwaleni]

There has been talk of authorizing an extension of this tollroad all the way to Ft. Myers.

If you take a larger look at a route like this, you will see that FDOT and Florida Turnpikes are improving access to SW Florida without the need to use I-75 via Tampa, which is already having some issues.

N/S traffic would use I-75>Wakiva Parkway>Poinciana Connector>Central Polk>Future Expressway

But I am not sure people going north via Jacksonville want to traverse the Wakiva unless forced to by I-4 traffic backups.

There is also a 3rd lane project planned for 42 miles of I-75 north of Naples.

[74/171FAN]

There is also a 3rd lane project planned for 42 miles of I-75 north of Naples.

I thought you meant to state 4th...

[edwaleni]

There is also a 3rd lane project planned for 42 miles of I-75 north of Naples.

I thought you meant to state 4th...

Yes, thanks for the correction.

[The Ghostbuster]

Here is a map of the Central Polk Parkway: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Central_polk_parkway.pdf. Would expanding existing roads in the area (including the Polk Parkway) have been a better use of funds than building the Central Polk Parkway?

[edwaleni]

Here is a map of the Central Polk Parkway: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Central_polk_parkway.pdf. Would expanding existing roads in the area (including the Polk Parkway) have been a better use of funds than building the Central Polk Parkway?

According to the article, FDOT says the property acquisition costs were too steep to upgrade US17-92.

Probably the biggest difference between the 2012 map you posted (TY) and the generic alignment one in the article is the existence of Toll FL-528 (Poinciana Parkway).

I have actually driven through this area when enroute to Ft Myers and the stop and go traffic through Bartow and Winter Haven is high. It's an older ROW and just chock full of old strip malls and driveways. The next time I came through I took a different route on Toll 570 (Polk Parkway) instead. It did better as I took the Thornhill Road route to Bartow via FL-540. I noticed today that this ramp is closed for construction, so they it looks like they are already upgrading to a full exit in prep for the connector to the future Central Polk.

The panic button is getting pressed by the large development on Old Bartow-Lake Wales Road (Lennar Peace Creek & Harper Estates)

Once they roll in, they are like a virus, other developers swoop in quickly and start hoarding land.

Sadly most of the land around this area are orange groves and they are getting bought up very quickly for development.

There is a state Senator in Lake Wales who has been pushing for a limited access tollroad all the way to Ft Myers south of the Caloosahatchee River. As far as I can tell, FDOT only has the East Arcadia Bypass on their radar for this route to connect FL-31 to US-17. A huge development by Pulte (Babcock Ranch) is going to increase traffic on this route.

[edwaleni]

Here is a map of the Central Polk Parkway: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Central_polk_parkway.pdf. Would expanding existing roads in the area (including the Polk Parkway) have been a better use of funds than building the Central Polk Parkway?

Section 299A has already started construction. The ramps from the Polk Parkway are closed as they reconstruct them. I saw lots of dirt clearing and bridge beams being driven from Winter Lake Road (FL-540) down long the west side of Thornhill Road. 299A is supposed to be built south over US17 and around the south side of Bartow Airport to FL-60.

I also noticed that FDOT calls this section the "Central Polk" , while the section this thread was started on is called "Central Polk - East"

[D-Dey65]

The one thing I have to say about this is that they'd better not build it through Bok Tower or Spook Hill. And I don't even believe any of the hype about Spook Hill.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Polk_Parkway#/media/File:Central_Polk_Parkway_proposed_map.jpg

[edwaleni]

The one thing I have to say about this is that they'd better not build it through Bok Tower or Spook Hill. And I don't even believe any of the hype about Spook Hill.

I doubt it. It will probably makes its turn to the west starting southeast of Lake Starr and cross over at Egg Farm Road to the north of Bok Tower and well north of Spook Hill.

The biggest issue they will have is which side of Lake Parker they will use to reach FL-60.

Some of the new developments are going in NW of the lake and that is spooking the highway planners. Their preferred access for the ROW might get pinched off.

[edwaleni]

https://www.fox13news.com/news/bok-tower-gardens-raises-concerns-about-proposed-parkway-potentially-impacting-wildlife-co

I am not sure what the panic is about, FDOT is going to route it through a wide open orange grove.

[ElishaGOtis]

https://www.fox13news.com/news/bok-tower-gardens-raises-concerns-about-proposed-parkway-potentially-impacting-wildlife-co

I am not sure what the panic is about, FDOT is going to route it through a wide open orange grove.

That's probably the concern hate to say it... it's a similar concern to that (initially) killed the high desert corridor.

[Plutonic Panda]

https://www.fox13news.com/news/bok-tower-gardens-raises-concerns-about-proposed-parkway-potentially-impacting-wildlife-co

I am not sure what the panic is about, FDOT is going to route it through a wide open orange grove.

That's probably the concern hate to say it... it's a similar concern to that (initially) killed the high desert corridor.

I think technically the HDC is shelved but I'd be surprised if it gets built with the current government.

[edwaleni]

Seems the City of Lake Wales is gathering up some "noise" on the proposal now.

https://www.lakewalesnews.net/story/2025/01/29/news/lake-wales-commission-ready-to-be-obnoxious-in-opposition-to-expressway-proposals/4614.html






I cant quite figure out why its OK to allow new subdivisions to be built with impunity, but no new highways can be built to support the migration of population.

[The Ghostbuster]

Does anyone believe the Central Polk Parkway will eventually be constructed? Or any of you think part or even all of the CPP will remain unbuilt?

[ElishaGOtis]

Seems the City of Lake Wales is gathering up some "noise" on the proposal now.

https://www.lakewalesnews.net/story/2025/01/29/news/lake-wales-commission-ready-to-be-obnoxious-in-opposition-to-expressway-proposals/4614.html






I cant quite figure out why its OK to allow new subdivisions to be built with impunity, but no new highways can be built to support the migration of population.

Developers have money.

[edwaleni]

Does anyone believe the Central Polk Parkway will eventually be constructed? Or any of you think part or even all of the CPP will remain unbuilt?

The section Lakeland to Bartow is already under construction.

The section from I-4 to Poinciana Parkway has the ROW in hand.

The only complaining seems to be around Lake Wales. The local folk think it should go east to Yeehaw Junction and down FL-60.

But FDOT (and one vocal/local state senator) wants to eventually extend it from west of Lake Wales down to Arcadia to the east of the Peace River valley.

I kind of laugh when the mayor of Lake Wales says they want to protect their way of life with a quaint small town. I am not sure how approving one of the largest housing developments on the Ocala Ridge will maintain that "quality of life".

Lake Wales is recommending that FDOT simply elevate US-27 and make it a limited access highway. That only works for Lake Wales, not for all the towns, driveways strip malls, and big box stores along US-27, especially at Eagle Ridge Mall.

[edwaleni]

I kind of laugh when the mayor of Lake Wales says they want to protect their way of life with a quaint small town. I am not sure how approving one of the largest housing developments on the Ocala Ridge will maintain that "quality of life".

https://www.lakewalesnews.net/story/2024/12/11/news/5-r-ranch-at-lake-wales-purchased-by-developer-in-50-million-deal/4563.html

[lamsalfl]

They should extend FL 417 southwest to the CPP as a parallel alternative to I-4

[The Ghostbuster]

FL 417 is as long as it will ever be. I'd suggest building a connector off the end of FL 429, but there is way too much development in the path of any potential connector to ever be constructed.

[RoadPelican]

The lack of connectivity going from SR 417 to points west and south really stinks. Someone really fumbled the ball at FDOT by not connecting SR 417 to SR 429 to fully avoid I-4. Along with building the Championsgate community while failing to widen I-4 in that area to accommodate growing traffic.

[edwaleni]

The lack of connectivity going from SR 417 to points west and south really stinks. Someone really fumbled the ball at FDOT by not connecting SR 417 to SR 429 to fully avoid I-4. Along with building the Championsgate community while failing to widen I-4 in that area to accommodate growing traffic.

They already are planning to connect FL-429 to Poinciana Parkway, but I would ask if they are going to bring World Drive down further south to intersect with that connector.

Development of Celebration has blocked any way to connect FL-417 going south through the Reedy Creek swamps.

[edwaleni]

Polk County transportation board on toll road: Move quickly, protect Bok Tower Gardens

Gary White, Lakeland Ledger @ Yahoo News
gary.white@theledger.com
https://www.yahoo.com/news/polk-county-transportation-board-toll-100619598.html

The Polk Transportation Planning Organization expressed a mixture of concerns Thursday morning while discussing a proposed toll road in eastern Polk County.

Some members seemed impatient at the slow pace of the project. Others urged a representative from Florida's Turnpike Enterprise to avoid harmful impacts to historic areas, particularly Bok Tower Gardens.

Jazlyn Heywood, project manager for Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, gave the board members a presentation on the Central Polk Parkway East during Thursday's regularly scheduled meeting. The state agency, a division of the Florida Department of Transportation, is conducting an alternative corridor evaluation for the Central Polk Parkway East, a toll road that would run from State Road 60 near Lake Wales to U.S. 17-92 near Davenport.

The Florida DOT has been planning such an extension of the Polk Parkway for about 20 years. The agency approved a route in 2011, but the project stalled in the design phase. It was revived after being transferred to the Turnpike Enterprise, but the emergence of development in the original path prompted the need to consider new corridors.

The project's renewal comes as Polk County has faced years of intensive population growth, much of it centered in the Haines City-Davenport area. The highway, potentially as long as 28 miles, is intended as an alternative north-south route to U.S. 27, which is already clogged with traffic that is forecast only to worsen.

The Polk TPO has expressed support for the Central Polk Parkway East. The board consists of Polk County commissioners and representatives from eight cities, along with regional blocs including the other municipalities.

Ryan Kordek, the Polk TPO's executive director, opened the discussion with a brief history of the project. He noted with irony that when the FDOT determined in 2015 that the toll road was not financially feasible, it cited a lack of sufficient population in Northeast Polk to support it.

The Turnpike Enterprise held public meetings in December and January, releasing four proposed corridors at the latter sessions. The study area is a roughly two-mile-wide swath running from west of Lake Wales toward U.S. 17-92.

The four potential routes all start at SR 60 and cross U.S. 27 near the Lowe's Home Improvement store. From there, the A and B alignments veer north and toward the western edge of the study area. The C and D alignments both run east, just north of Mountain Lake Estates, and then bend to the north.

The Turnpike Enterprise has said that the final alignment could be a combination of the four proposed routes.

Seeking to protect Bok Tower Gardens

Some board members raised concerns about the potential effect of the highway on Bok Tower Gardens, a 101-year-old attraction in Lake Wales prized for its tranquility and quiet. Lakeland City Commissioner Stephanie Madden emphasized the importance of preserving the area's culture and history.

"This is a regional concern," Madden said. "I mean, it would be a travesty to lose the historic gem that we have in Bok Tower Gardens. ... Everyone feels the pinch point of traffic, and so anything that seems like a solution would be a yes vote. But what are the consequences?"

Bok Tower Gardens President David Price attended Thursday's meeting but did not speak. Price presented Heywood and the TPO board members with a letter describing the 250-acre attraction, a National Historic Landmark.

During a presentation to the board, Jazlyn Heywood, project manager for Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, estimated that the nearest corridors are two miles from Bok Tower. But Price has said that the C and D corridors would need to veer south to avoid a large sinkhole, bringing them within about 2,600 feet of the park's boundary.

"The possibility of the highway coming this close to the Gardens is concerning because of the impact of road noise, lights, viewshed obstruction, and, lastly, blocking a documented wildlife corridor in an area targeted for preservation," Price wrote.

Heywood said that planners will consider such input.

"The good thing is, we have four corridors under evaluation," Heywood said. "So, with that feedback, we're going to go back, take that feedback, and again, we could perhaps drop C and D and revert back to the modified alignment, which is A, or something even completely new. So, this is the feedback that we need to narrow this down to one."

Polk County Commissioner Bill Braswell said that Jay Jarvis, the county's director of roads and drainage, has provided a preferred route. The Ledger was unable to reach Jarvis on Thursday or obtain a copy of any proposal.

During public comments at the start of the meeting, lifelong Polk County resident Sharon Garrett offered an impassioned plea to direct the toll road away from her property of nearly 300 acres east of Haines City. Garrett said that two of the proposed corridors would go "directly over my house."

"This is my home," Garrett said. "It means a lot to me. It means a lot to my husband. This will either give him a heart attack, or he will overdose himself on insulin, because he says he's not leaving. And then I get to put on his headstone, 'Here lies a good man that was killed by the greed of developers having to cram as many people as they possibly can on land and making the road so overcrowded nobody can move.'"

Official pledges balancing act
Board Vice Chair Sara Roberts McCarley, a Lakeland city commissioner, stressed that she grew up in Davenport and feels protective of that area.

"We have a lot of wetlands we have to consider, but we also have a lot of historic properties we have to consider," McCarley said. "I want to maintain the balance of — yes, new development and growth — but we also have to protect things that are 100 years old. And so how are we doing that? How are we taking this data metric and making it work?"

Heywood said that planners are considering both natural and cultural assets in assessing the proposed routes.

"We're doing a balancing act," Heywood said. "So, we go out there, within our study area. The study area shown on this map is just a corridor. But we go out and we do some desktop analysis and some field reviews to determine what's there, those historic features, those cultural, significant features, existing residential developments."

Heywood added: "Of course, no impacts are not possible, but we do try to balance the impacts. And then if we do have to impact something, a natural resource, we always mitigate for it."

Mitigation means devoting money to preserve natural areas elsewhere in Florida to compensate for land altered or destroyed in a construction project.

Heywood's presentation included maps showing 2023 traffic conditions in eastern Polk County and those projected for 2050. The color-coded map for 2023 showed red, indicating heavy traffic, on stretches of Interstate 4, U.S. 27 and short segments of U.S. 17-92 and SR 60.

On the 2050 outlook map, the red section of I-4 lengthened, and new stretches arose farther south on U.S. 27. The red covered a longer segment of U.S. 17-92 northeast of Davenport and an expanded stretch of SR 60 from Lake Wales going west.

The Turnpike Enterprise will hold additional public meetings in April and plans to release its preferred corridor in May, Heywood said. Kordek invited her to return and give the Polk TPO an update at its April meeting.

Taylor Cadle case Report: Polk Sheriff's Office erases mentions of teen rape victim in social media comments

The project is in the first of five phases, to be followed by a project development and environment study. The design, land acquisition and construction would take years.

Could Polk contribute to project?
Braswell and other board members seemed to wish the project could be sped up. The Turnpike Enterprise is scheduled to complete the alternative corridor evaluation in the fourth quarter of 2025.

"The quicker you get to a corridor, the more feasible it is, because that side of the county is blowing up with development and everything else," Braswell said.

Polk County Commissioner Becky Troutman echoed that sense of urgency.

"I just want to clarify — is May a realistic time frame that we will have a preferred corridor identified?" Troutman asked. "Because any day is too late."

Fort Meade City Commissioner James Watts drew upon his 40 years as an FDOT employee.

"The sad part about it is by the time you finish the PD&E study — and all that is frustrating — you start to design that project, and by the time it goes to ground, it's outdated," Watts said.

Braswell wondered whether Polk County could speed the project along by offering to help with construction. County Manager Bill Beasley has pitched the idea of extending a four-lane road from Haines City to Lake Wales at a cost of at least $200 million.

That indicates that Polk County has money available for road construction, Braswell suggested.

"So, partnerships are always welcome, right?" said L.K. Nandam, secretary for FDOT's District 1, based in Bartow. "Because if you get multiple funding sources, you can make all kinds of things happen."

Nandam emphasized that even if the toll road is built, it won't alleviate all traffic problems in eastern Polk County.

"Just having a toll facility with the interchanges is not going to satisfy the need for infrastructure in that area, right?" Nandam said. "You need local connector roadways, the improvements to the local facilities, and that's where investments from the county and the cities should be focused on. So, I think we need to have that conversation as this goes forward."

[roadman65]

The piles are finally being driven at Winter Lake Road where the road will cross.