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

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. 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 state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of t ...

(FDOT). The western segment will connect the

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

with State Road 60 between Bartow and

Lake Wales Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida. The population was 14,225 at the 2010 census. , the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 16,759. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lake Wales is ...

. The eastern leg will start a few miles east of State Road 60 and run north, parallel

US 27 U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I-69) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. F ...

, and terminate at

Interstate 4 Interstate 4 (I-4) is an Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Spanning along a generally southwest–northeast axis, I-4 is entirely concurrent wi ...

north of Davenport. 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 Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

Intermodal Facility south of Wahneta. In December 2015, the Florida Department of Transportation 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.

Beginnings

The Central Florida Parkway had its beginnings in another proposed road project, the controversial Heartland Parkway, which was proposed to connect the Lakeland area with

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

. 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, non-metropolitan counties— DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, and Okeecho ...

. 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. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...

, but his successor

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. (; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic ...

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 the F ...

, 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 Florida 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 separatel ...

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.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Handout with map & analysis of proposed routes

Complete PD&E study ("corridor report")
Proposed state highways in the United States Roads in Polk County, Florida

Beginnings

Needs

Revival

See also

References

External links