Polk County Drivers Should Prepare For Delays Due To Road Construction

POLK COUNTY, FL — Residential construction, a Polk County bridge replacement project and two Florida Gas Transmission pipeline safety installations will cause traffic delays for some Polk County drivers.

Six months of intermittent road closures are underway along Holly Hill Grove Road 3 just west of U.S. 27 to install offsite utilities and reconstruct the road for a multifamily residential development. Traffic will be briefly diverted to Holly Hill Grove Road 2 or Holly Hill Grove Road 2 to FDC Grove Road to bypass the work zone.

Starting Monday, April 17, the Thornhill Road Bridge over Lake Lena Run in Winter Haven will be closed for up to 150 days for replacement. The bridge is located just south of the Marshall Hampton Reserve on Thornhill Road. Traffic north of the bridge will be detoured at State Road 540 (Winter Lake Road) and traffic south of the bridge will be rerouted along Spirit Lake Road. Access to homes and businesses along Thornhill Road will be maintained, but traffic will not be permitted past the bridge work zone. Polk County has given the bridge contractor incentives to complete the new bridge sooner than the 150 days allowed.

A Florida Gas Transmission project to install safety test points is scheduled to close Crossover Road in Bartow overnight Monday, April 17 from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Crossover Road traffic will use a short detour along Old Bartow Eagle Lake Road, U.S. 17 and Ernest Smith Boulevard to avoid closure. Access to the nearby Polk County Sheriff’s Office Burnham-McCall Training Center will be unaffected.

Concurrently, Florida Gas Transmission will combine lane and road closures to keep traffic safely separated from similar installations along Pearce Avenue at the intersection with Marcum Road and North Socrum Loop Road in north Lakeland near the Lake Gibson Church of the Nazarene.

Traffic along Marcum Road and North Socrum Loop Road will not be permitted to turn south onto Pearce Avenue. Northbound traffic on Pearce Avenue will be required to turn left at the intersection. Marcum Road and North Socrum Loop Road traffic will be detoured along Odom Road and Leelon Road to avoid work zone closures at Pearce Avenue.

Commuters can expect delays, particularly during peak travel hours, and should add extra drive time to trips in these areas. Alternate routes should also be considered to avoid slowdowns and backups.

For more details, contact Bill Skelton with the Polk County Roads & Drainage Division at 863-535-2200.