Begun in 2020, redesign of U.S. 27 interchange in Lake Wales nears completion

Driving on the west side of Lake Wales has become a less harrowing endeavor as a major road project nears completion ahead of schedule.

The reconstruction of the interchange at U.S. 27 and State Road 60 is largely completed, 3? years after a contractor for the Florida Department of Transportation began work on it.

The six lanes of traffic on the SR 60 overpass crossing U.S. 27 are flowing freely, while most obstructions have also been removed on the north-south highway.

FDOT launched the $57 million project in September 2020, seeking to address multiple safety problems with the outdated interchange constructed in 1964. The design, known as a single point urban interchange, eliminated the two loops on the north side of U.S. 27,

The traffic loops required abrupt decelerations from highway speed and did not provide enough space for acceleration before merging with highway traffic, FDOT said in outlining the project.

The project, part of the Polk Transportation Planning Organization's 2040 strategy, will be finished this spring, said Patricia Pichette, a communications specialist with FDOT’s District 1 office in Bartow. The agency gave a completion date of spring 2025 when The Ledger initially reported on the project.

FDOT’s construction project manager arranged for contractors to work in multiple areas at one time, and the concurrent work allowed the project to be completed ahead of schedule, Pichette said.

The agency cited several reasons for needing to replace the old interchange. The old double bridges for SR 60 over U.S. 27 had vertical clearances of about 15 feet, 6 inches, which was not high enough for all trucks. Taller trucks had hit the bridges many times over the decades since they were built, FDOT said.

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The single bridge that replaced the double bridges meets the current clearance standard of 17 feet, 6 inches. Its base also allows more of a turning radius for large trucks.

In the final stage of the project, FDOT will open sidewalks and other pedestrian features around the interchange, Pichette said.

The state acquired 4.2 acres for the project, including strips on both sides of SR 60 east of U.S. 27, stretching to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

When the project began, average daily traffic on U.S. 27 near SR 60 was 29,000 vehicles, according to the Polk TPO. Volume is predicted to increase to 52,800 by 2040.

U.S. 27 in the Lake Wales area serves as a regional freight corridor linking Interstate 4 to Miami-area arteries, carrying between 3,200 and 3,700 trucks a day, FDOT said. That represented about 20% of the daily traffic volume.

Skip Alford, president and CEO of the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce, described the completion of the project as “huge.”

“What's nice about the design is it’s going to allow traffic to flow regularly, but it's also going to keep the flow of business traffic through our area,” Alford said. “As we grow and have the restaurants and things come in, it's going to mean a lot of extra revenue for us. So the tandem effect of it, I think, is tremendous for Lake Wales.”

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Alford acknowledged that the delays and rerouting of traffic during the project have caused some “pain” for local residents, but he said most seemed willing to endure that in order to have an improved interchange in place.

“When you look at the merchants around there, and I’ve talked to them, they're all really excited about it,” Alford said. “It looks good, it's attractive, and it's going to be a good way to help generate good business.”

Gary White can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Redesign of U.S. 27 interchange in Lake Wales nears completion