The Central Polk Parkway, also known as State Road 570B (SR 570B), is a proposed

controlled-access A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

Polk County, Florida Polk County () is a County (United States), county located in the Central Florida, central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. The county population was 725,046, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and estimated to be 818,330, as ...

. The proposed road is actually two separate roads—called ''legs'' by the

Florida Department of Transportation The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the U.S. state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the power ...

(FDOT). The western segment will connect the

Polk Parkway State Road 570 (SR 570), also known as the Polk Parkway, is a controlled-access toll road which runs through Polk County, Florida. It is operated as part of Florida's Turnpike Enterprise system of tolled freeways. The Polk Parkway mainly ...

with SR 60 between Bartow and

Lake Wales Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 16,361 at the 2020 census. History Early history A survey by W.A. Williams and J ...

. The eastern leg will start a few miles east of SR 60 and run north, parallel to US Highway 27 (US 27), and terminate at Interstate 4 (I-4) north of

Davenport Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality *Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta **District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...

. The most recent, and viable, proposed routing will connect the two legs together near the

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

Intermodal Facility south of Wahneta. In December 2015, FDOT announced the cancellation of any further work on the project, citing insufficient funds (a $1 billion shortfall) and low traffic volume. The project continued to have the support of the local business community and local politicians, however, and it was revived in 2018.

History

The Central Polk Parkway had its beginnings in another proposed road project, the controversial

Heartland Parkway Heartland Parkway was a planned controlled-access toll road consisting of approximately from near the Polk-Osceola County line in central Florida to the Fort Myers–Naples area of southwest Florida, through rural portions of Polk, Hardee, High ...

, which was proposed to connect the Lakeland area with

Fort Myers A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

. It would have run through undeveloped land in the

Florida Heartland The Florida Heartland (also known as South Central Florida) is a region of Florida located to the north and west of Lake Okeechobee, composed of six inland, predominantly rural counties— DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, and Okee ...

. This proposal was supported by former governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Bush family, Bush political family, he was an unsuccessful candidate for pre ...

, but his successor

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. ( ; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. represen ...

criticized the idea due primarily to environmental concerns. The northernmost segment of the Heartland Parkway segment in Polk County has been dubbed as "the fish hook" by proponents of the project. According to feasibility studies on various east–west and north–south routes throughout the state by the

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) is a unit of the Florida Department of Transportation that operates toll roads in Florida. The current executive director is Nicola Liquori. History The Florida State Turnpike Authority was authorized by t ...

, the route from State Road 60 to the

was the only feasible route, meaning it would be supported by tolls alone. Further studies were funded and the project is currently past the initial planning stages.

Needs

The Central Polk Parkway fulfills a number of needs in Polk County, according to the FDOT and the road's proponents: * It will act as a beltway around the City of Winter Haven, providing easy freeway access to the Polk Parkway and Interstate 4. * The planned

freight terminal off of US 27 in Winter Haven was supposed to have created substantial truck traffic, and the proposed road would have helped keep these trucks off of local roads. * The Clear Springs development in Bartow will double or triple Bartow's population in the next 20 years, increasing traffic substantially on State Road 60 and US 17. * The construction of

Legoland Florida Legoland Florida Resort (stylized as LEGOLAND Florida Resort) is a vacation destination in Winter Haven, Florida. The resort features the Legoland Florida theme park itself, the Legoland Water Park, three on-site accommodations and a separately ...

on the site of the old

Cypress Gardens Cypress Gardens was a botanical garden and theme park near Winter Haven, Florida that operated from 1936 to 2009. As of 2011, the botanical garden portion had been preserved inside the newly formed Legoland Florida. History Billed as Florida' ...

will bring added traffic to the area. * The road would have reduced traffic on State Road 60, US 17 and US 27.

Revival

The project was revived in early 2018, and a preliminary design was released in June 2019. Construction began on the segment of Central Polk Parkway from Polk Parkway at the SR 540 interchange to a new interchange with US 17 (SR 35). Another section of the expressway is in design spanning from US 17 (SR 35) to SR 60 ending at an interchange with SR 60 at Connersville Road.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Handout with map & analysis of proposed routes

Complete PD&E study ("corridor report")

FTE Construction Notice SR570B from SR570 to US17

Design Phase FTE Central Polk Parkway US17 to SR60
Proposed state highways in the United States Roads in Polk County, Florida

History

Needs

Revival

See also

References

External links