State Road 570 (Florida)
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State Road 570 (SR 570), also known as the Polk Parkway, is a , limited-access toll road which runs through
Polk County, Florida Polk County is located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. The county population was 725,046, as of the 2020 census. Its county seat is Bartow, and its largest city is Lakeland. Polk County comprises the Lakeland–Winter Ha ...
. It is operated as part of Florida's Turnpike Enterprise system of limited-access
expressways Expressway may refer to: *Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. *Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional slide ...
. The Polk Parkway mainly serves as a beltway around Lakeland forming a semicircle, which along with I-4 circumscribes most of the city limits of Lakeland. As part of Florida's Turnpike network,
SunPass SunPass is an electronic toll collection system within the state of Florida, United States. It was created in 1999 by the Florida Department of Transportation's (FDOT's) Office of Toll Operations, operating now as a division of Florida's Turnpik ...
, E-Pass, and LeeWay electronic toll collection were recognized along with coin collection at toll plazas and interchange ramps. The Polk Parkway didn't, however, employ open road tolling like numerous other toll roads in Florida until on September 23, 2022, at 8:00 pm, when it went to all-electronic tolling, like the other toll roads within the network.


Route description

SR 570 provides easier access to I-4 from Polk County cities Lakeland, Winter Haven, Bartow,
Mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...
, and Auburndale, as well as providing quick routes from city to city. The road is signed east–west, although the section from SR 540 (exit 14) to the eastern I-4 junction runs nearly south to north. The control cities for the highway's signage are
Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
(westbound) and Orlando (eastbound). The Polk Parkway is a four lane divided
expressway Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. * Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional s ...
for most of its length, although between Old Dixie Highway (Exit 18) and south of Pace Road (exit 23), the highway is a two-lane expressway, with one lane in each direction. As of 2015, the toll is $1.25 cash or $1.06 with
SunPass SunPass is an electronic toll collection system within the state of Florida, United States. It was created in 1999 by the Florida Department of Transportation's (FDOT's) Office of Toll Operations, operating now as a division of Florida's Turnpik ...
at the three mainline toll plazas and $0.00-0.75 cash or $0.00-$0.53 with SunPass at junctions. The maximum toll for any trip along the Polk Parkway is $3.75 cash or $3.18 with SunPass. The Polk Parkway begins at Interstate 4 near the
Hillsborough Hillsborough may refer to: Australia *Hillsborough, New South Wales, a suburb of Lake Macquarie Canada *Hillsborough, New Brunswick *Hillsborough Parish, New Brunswick * Hillsborough, Nova Scotia, in Inverness County *Hillsborough (electoral d ...
-Polk County line west of Lakeland. Until reaching Harden Boulevard (exit 5), the Polk Parkway passes through mostly undeveloped land. Just east of Airport Road (exit 3), the highway passes a large building with a green glass facade, which is the corporate headquarters for
Publix Supermarkets Publix Super Markets, Inc., commonly known as Publix, is an employee-owned American supermarket chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a private corporation that is wholly owned by present and ...
. Before reaching exit 4, the highway runs a half mile northeast of
Lakeland Linder International Airport Lakeland Linder International Airport is a public airport five miles southwest of Lakeland, in Polk County, Florida. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a na ...
—a large general aviation airport—passing beneath the path of air traffic on Runway 5/23. Between Harden Boulevard (exit 5) and South Florida Avenue (exit 7), the Polk Parkway was built along the alignment of Drane Field Road, which is now truncated at Harden Boulevard and continues to South Florida Avenue as frontage roads along the Polk Parkway. The first mainline toll plaza is located between South Florida Avenue and Lakeland Highlands Road. The eastbound exit and westbound entrance at SR 540 (exit 14) are located at the Central Toll Plaza. After crossing De Castro Road, the Polk Parkway curves to the north, passing the only operating landfill in Polk County. Along the curve is the westbound exit and eastbound entrance of the SR 540 junction, which is the location of the planned interchange with the future Central Polk Parkway. The Polk Parkway continues north for the remainder of its length. A segment between Old Dixie Highway and Pace Road is a two-lane highway; the only overpass along this segment was built to accommodate a second carriageway west of the current highway. About midway between Old Dixie Highway and Pace Road is the Eastern Toll Plaza. The Pace Road interchange collects tolls with SunPass only and was added to the highway in 2011 to provide access to Florida Polytechnic University, located on the southwest corner of the I-4/Polk Parkway interchange.


History

The Polk Parkway was originally conceived in the 1950s as a circumferential route around Lakeland, and after several delays in planning due to funding shortfalls, it was revived as the Imperial Parkway by the Polk County Commission in 1986. Due to the delays, a proposal in the 1970s/1980s that would have connected the parkway with the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway never came to fruition. In the spring of 1990, the Florida Legislature led by Senate leader and Winter Haven resident Bob Crawford, incorporated the Polk Parkway into the Turnpike Expansion Program, a part of Senate Bill 1316. The Parkway's groundbreaking was on January 25, 1996. The western of the Parkway opened to traffic on August 9, 1998. The central section, approximately in length, opened to traffic on 2 August 1999. The easternmost of road opened to traffic on 12 December 1999, completing the highway at a cost of $490 million. In the late summer of 2009, the Turnpike began widening the Polk Parkway from Interstate 4 at Polk City south to Pace Road from two lanes to four lanes. This $48 million design-build project includes construction of a SunPass-only interchange at Pace Road (exit 23), featuring a modified cloverleaf design, with a 25 cent toll for the to-and-from the east (north) movement. The to-and-from the west (south) movement is not tolled as there is a mainline plaza to the west where the toll will be collected. The interchange opened on November 10, 2011, providing access to the new Florida Polytechnic University campus. The project is a public-private partnership between the Florida Department of Transportation—Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise, USF Polytechnic, the Polk County Board of County Commissioners and The Williams Company. The 1998 Florida Legislature designated the western of the Polk Parkway (between Interstate 4 and South Florida Avenue ( State Road 37) as the
James Henry Mills James Henry Mills (May 2, 1923 – November 11, 1973) was the only Polk County, Florida native to receive the Medal of Honor in World War II. He joined the Army from his birth city in September 1943. Private Mills earned the Medal of Honor in 1 ...
Medal of Honor Parkway. Mills was the only native of Polk County to receive a medal of honor in World War II, in recognition of his heroic actions in Cisterna, Italy.


Future

The Polk Parkway has become an important part of Polk County's transportation infrastructure as traffic has increased in the growing county. There have been several plans presented to the public regarding a proposed
Heartland Parkway Heartland Parkway was a planned north–south 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, Highl ...
which would be a roughly parkway extending from the Polk Parkway to Southwest Florida near
Ft. 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 ...
. There has also been a proposal to construct an extension from the Polk Parkway encircling Winter Haven and connecting with I-4 near the Polk-Osceola county line. Another proposed parkway would connect the southeast corner of the Polk Parkway with
State Road 60 The following highways are numbered 60: International * Asian Highway 60 * European route E60 Australia * Bruxner Highway * Dawson Highway (Rolleston to Gladstone) - Queensland State Route 60 Brazil * BR-060 Canada * Alberta Highway 60 * Ma ...
east of Lake Wales.Consultants to Study Toll Road Ideas
/ref> These will be realized as the Central Polk Parkway (SR 570B), which is currently in the design phase.


Exit list


References


External links


Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (official site)

Map of Polk Parkway/SR 570

Florida Department of Transportation (official site)

SunPass
{{Fla Tpk
570 __NOTOC__ Year 570 ( DLXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 570 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...
570 __NOTOC__ Year 570 ( DLXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 570 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...
570 __NOTOC__ Year 570 ( DLXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 570 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...
Florida State Road 570 Freeways in the United States Lakeland, Florida