Project to replace CR 557 overpass on I-4 near Lake Alfred is nearly complete

The replacement of the County Road 557 interchange with Interstate 4 is mostly finished.

Contractors for the Florida Department of Transportation began work in 2020 on the $70.5 million project to replace the figure-eight pattern of the exit ramps with a diamond design.

Crews demolished a two-lane bridge over I-4, replacing it with a four-lane overpass. The interchange at Exit 48, which serves Lake Alfred and Winter Haven, was built when I-4 had just two lanes in each direction. The state widened the highway to three lanes both eastbound and westbound in the early 2000s.

The new overpass has enough vertical and horizontal clearance to accommodate FDOT’s long-term “I-4 Ultimate” improvements. The bridge allows room for adding express lanes and providing space in the median for a high-speed rail corridor.

The project replaced partial cloverleaf exits with what FDOT calls “dual teardrop roundabouts.” The exit ramps are longer and allow more gradual deceleration before merging with CR 557.

The project required shifts to temporary traffic patterns, but the final pattern is now in place, FDOT said. Paving of the final layer of asphalt is scheduled to begin in mid-April, and paving of CR 557 is already complete.

Remaining work includes permanent pavement markings, placing sod, fencing, cleanup and testing of the wrong way vehicle detection system, FDOT said. The project, originally scheduled to end last summer, is currently scheduled for completion in May.

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The project includes the construction of the first wildlife crossing under I-4 in Polk County. The crossing has been built, though fencing still must be installed that will help guide wildlife to the crossing, FDOT said.

Cameras will be installed in the wildlife crossing to monitor its use by animals, FDOT said.

Independent of the FDOT project, the Polk County Commission has allocated $88 million for the widening of CR 557 between Lake Alfred and I-4.

The 5.7-mile project has been divided into two phases, said Bill Skelton, project management liaison for Polk County Roads and Drainage. The first phase, covering 4.2 miles, will stretch from Old Lake Alfred Road, where a roundabout will be constructed by the developer of the Eden Hills subdivision, north to I-4.

The second phase will extend 1.5 miles from the Old Lake Alfred Road roundabout south to West Alfred Street.

The full design plans for both phases are scheduled for submission by the end of April, Skelton said.

Construction bidding for phase one is expected in late 2024 or early 2025, and construction would likely start 60 to 90 days later and last about three years. The second phase should take about two years to construct, Skelton said.

The county is still awaiting a wetlands dredge/fill permit, Skelton said. A recent court ruling that shifted authority for such permits from the state to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has created uncertainty over future wetland permitting in Florida, as legal challenges continue.

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

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Project to replace CR 557 overpass on I-4 is in final stages