Polk County Road Closures & Construction for the week of Sept. 7, 2026
The biggest disruption in Polk County this week is not a scheduled lane closure at all. U.S. 17/92 in Davenport is closed in both directions between Ernie Caldwell Boulevard and Lem Carnes Road after the roadbed gave way, and as of FDOT’s most recent notice on Sept. 2, no reopening date had been set. A second full closure, on Old Bartow Lake Wales Road at State Road 60, began Tuesday morning and runs just over three weeks. This roundup covers Sunday, Sept. 6 through Saturday, Sept. 12.
One note before the report: FDOT publishes a weekly RoadWatch construction report for District One, and as of Tuesday morning it had not posted the edition covering this week. The most recent report available is No. 35, covering Aug. 30 through Sept. 5. Items below that come from that report are identified as such, because FDOT has not confirmed in writing that they carry into this week.
Interstate 4
The heaviest sustained overnight work in the county remains the Interstate 4 interchange reconstruction at State Road 33, Exit 38, in Lakeland, a rebuild of the interchange and of the Interstate 4 bridges over State Road 33 that also adds wildlife crossings and noise walls. It is not scheduled to finish until summer 2029. The Aug. 30 report listed single lane closures on Interstate 4 from 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. and double lane closures from 10:30 p.m. to 6 a.m., both running for the duration of construction, along with lane closures and flagging on State Road 33 from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Detours at the interchange itself may run Monday through Friday from 9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. for bridge work, with northbound traffic sent by way of eastbound Interstate 4 and State Road 559 and southbound traffic sent by way of Tomkow Road. The eastbound and westbound Exit 38 off ramps may close overnight as needed, Sunday through Thursday, from 9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m., with traffic continuing to Exit 33 and following posted detour signs.
Tied to that project, the State Road 659 detour on North Combee Road began Aug. 10 and was scheduled to last about 60 days, which puts it into early October. FDOT says the closure is in place to finish the interchange work earlier than previously expected. Posted detours run by way of State Road 33, Lakeland Hills Boulevard, and surrounding roads.
The Interstate 4 bridge replacement over the CSX railroad about 1,200 feet west of Kathleen Road, Exit 31, carried the single most disruptive daytime closure in the Aug. 30 report. The westbound Interstate 4 on ramp at Kathleen Road was listed as closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily and from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. nightly, Sunday through Thursday, with drivers directed to continue north on Kathleen Road, turn east on Griffin Road to U.S. 98, then head north on U.S. 98 to the westbound on ramp at Exit 32. That schedule was written for the week of Aug. 30 through Sept. 5, and no newer report has said whether it continues. Anyone who uses that ramp during the day should check FL511.com first.
U.S. 27
In Davenport, U.S. 27 carries two separate overnight jobs, both listed in the Aug. 30 report. At the Holly Hill Road and Massee Road intersections, the inside lanes close in both directions from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, while crews mill and repave to remove old striping. A little to the north, between Ridgewood Lakes Boulevard and Holly Hill Road 2, northbound and southbound lanes close from 7:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, for drainage work and a new turn lane in the median. Neither job carried an end date in that report.
U.S. 98
Flagging operations continue on U.S. 98 between West Socrum Loop Road and County Road 54, in the Lakeland and Kathleen area, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8 through Friday, Sept. 11. Traffic is stopped intermittently. The speed limit stays reduced to 45 mph through the whole project, which is widening U.S. 98 to four divided lanes, building roundabouts at Big Cypress Boulevard and State Road 471, and adding shared use paths from West Socrum Loop Road and Hall Road to just north of Rock Ridge Road.
Between State Road 60 and County Road 540A in Bartow and Highland City, overnight lane closures run Sunday through Thursday nights from State Road 60 to Bartow Regional Medical Center while crews mill and pave at the Lyle Parkway intersection and install the mast arm signal. The median opening on U.S. 98 at Lyle Parkway is closed for that work, so drivers heading for Lyle Parkway have to continue to the next median opening and turn around.
North of there, on U.S. 98 between Griffin Road and Sharon Drive in Lakeland, crews are working through punch list items on a finished resurfacing job, with periodic overnight closures in both directions and periodic daytime closures north of Interstate 4.
U.S. 17 and U.S. 17/92
The Davenport closure is the one to plan around. All northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. 17/92 are closed from Ernie Caldwell Boulevard to Lem Carnes Road after roadway depressions caused by a jack and bore operation just south of Ernie Caldwell Boulevard. Southbound traffic is detoured west onto Ernie Caldwell Boulevard, south on Lee Jackson Highway, then east on Lem Carnes Road. Northbound traffic runs the reverse, west on Lem Carnes Road, north on Lee Jackson Highway, then east on Ernie Caldwell Boulevard. FDOT said in its Sept. 2 notice that the duration of the closure remained unknown and that emergency crews were repairing the site. Check FL511.com before using that corridor.
Farther south on U.S. 17/92, below Ernie Caldwell Boulevard, flaggers direct traffic at the railroad crossing from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. while crews refresh safety striping. That work sits on the same stretch of road as the closure, so drivers on the detour should expect to meet it. At Powerline Road, just south of Bargain Barn Road, northbound and southbound lanes close from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. for widening and a new turn lane.
In Winter Haven, the southbound inside lane of U.S. 17 closes Wednesday, Sept. 9, along with the inside westbound left turn lane from Cypress Gardens Boulevard onto southbound U.S. 17. FDOT says both will be closed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for about two weeks. Crews are installing a drainage structure and building turn lanes for the entrance to the Target under construction at that intersection. The work sits north and south of State Road 540 and is part of a larger permit job that also adds a second left turn lane from southbound U.S. 17 onto Snively Avenue and a traffic signal at the Chain of Lakes Complex and Target entrance.
Overnight lane closures run Monday through Friday nights on U.S. 17 from north of Transport Road in Bartow to Avenue G Southwest in Winter Haven while crews place pavement markings, the last stage of a resurfacing job that also included sidewalk, curb and gutter and signal sensors.
In Eagle Lake, nighttime closures continue on U.S. 17 and State Road 540 from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, for the Thompson Nursery Road realignment. Polk County is building a new four lane collector road between U.S. 17 and Rifle Range Road, and crews are shifting lanes and setting barrier wall at the corner of State Road 540 and U.S. 17.
Lakeland
Reconstruction continues on State Road 33, Lakeland Hills Boulevard, between Parkview Place and Griffin Road, where the roadbed, drainage, sidewalks, signals and the city’s water and sewer lines are all being replaced. Traffic between East Bella Vista Street and Griffin Road has already shifted onto new lanes on the east side of the road. The Aug. 30 report said the remaining stretch, from East Bella Vista Street south to Parkview Place, was expected to shift in mid September. One lane stays open in each direction for most of the job, and the speed limit through the work zone is 35 mph.
Nighttime lane closures continue on Memorial Boulevard, Berkley Road and Recker Highway on alternating nights from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. through Oct. 9 for safety striping and thermoplastic work, with flaggers directing traffic. On State Road 700, Lake Parker Avenue, between U.S. 98 and U.S. 92, nighttime closures run from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. through Sept. 10 while crews clean and video the stormwater system.
On State Road 37, South Florida Avenue, between West Christina Boulevard and Shepard Road, southbound lanes close overnight from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. while crews build a new deceleration lane.
The Aug. 30 report also listed a full overnight closure of the State Road 600, George Jenkins Boulevard, intersection at Wabash Avenue from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., with City of Lakeland crews lining the sewer through a manhole on Wabash Avenue North and law enforcement on site directing traffic around posted detours. The report gave no start date and no end date for that closure, so whether it runs this week is not established in the document.
Winter Haven and Auburndale
Eastbound daytime lane closures continue on State Road 544, Havendale Boulevard, between Lake Blue Drive and 26th Street Northwest, where crews are building a gravity wall and a six foot sidewalk along the south side and adding high visibility crosswalks at side streets.
Westbound nighttime closures on State Road 540, Cypress Gardens Boulevard, between First Street Southeast and Third Street Southeast run from 11:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. through Friday, Sept. 11, while crews install a driveway and curb. Elsewhere on Cypress Gardens Boulevard, between North Lake Florence Drive and South Lake Florence Drive, lanes are closed while crews replace a utility pole and do overhead work that FDOT attributes to an earlier crash. On State Road 540, Winter Lake Road, at Thomas Wood Lane, closures run from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. through the end of October for roadway stabilization and paving.
At State Road 544, Lucerne Park Road, and Old Lucerne Park Road, crews are finishing a new traffic signal, with periodic lane closures seven days a week while they connect wiring, adjust light pole bases and lay sod. It is one of three signal jobs under a single contract, along with State Road 33 at Mount Olive Road in Polk City and State Road 17 at Kokomo Road in Lake Hamilton, and crews move among the three, so closures can turn up at any of them. All three signals are expected to be working by fall.
Bartow and southern Polk
Old Bartow Lake Wales Road closed at the State Road 60 intersection in Bartow at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, and is expected to reopen at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30. The Polk County Roads and Drainage Division is widening the road to improve traffic movement onto State Road 60. Traffic is detoured on Logistics Parkway and Old Bartow Lake Wales Road. The division can be reached at 863-535-2200.
Work on the Fort Fraser Trail bridge over State Road 60 between Wilson Avenue and U.S. 17 continues, with crews driving piles, moving a crane and bridge materials across the highway, setting retaining wall panels and building temporary access across Bear Creek. The trail is closed from the north trailhead just north of State Road 60 through the south end of the trail. The north end of the trail stays open.
Eastbound lanes on State Road 60 close overnight from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. between Rifle Range Road and Alturas Road while crews work on storm drainage in the median. On State Road 37 at Agricola, north of Bradley Junction, flaggers direct traffic at the railroad crossing from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for striping work.
Lake Wales & Polk City
In the Lake Wales area, Dog Yard Road closed at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, about 330 feet west of the Walk In Water Road intersection, for underground pipe installation. It is expected to reopen at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11. Traffic is detoured on Walk In Water Road, State Road 60, Golden Bough Road, Flame Flower Lane, Kimbrel Road, Glen Saint Mary Road and Dog Yard Road. The work is a JDS Inc. project.
In Polk City, periodic lane closures run seven days a week at State Road 33 and Mount Olive Road for the new signal described above, and in Lake Hamilton the same contractor is finishing the signal at State Road 17 and Kokomo Road on the same terms. On State Road 33, Commonwealth Avenue, between the Centerstate Logistics Park and Epicenter Boulevard, lanes close overnight from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. while crews put down final striping.
Long term projects
Resurfacing continues on State Road 570, the Polk Parkway, from west of Lakeland Highlands Road at milepost 8 to south of U.S. 92 at milepost 17, a roughly 20 million dollar job that also covers the U.S. 98 ramps, Lakeland Highlands Road and Winter Lake Road and adds guardrail, rumble strips and new drainage. The Aug. 30 report still gives the completion estimate as mid 2026, a date that has passed.
Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise is building State Road 570B, the Central Polk Parkway, a new four lane toll road running about 6.5 miles from the Polk Parkway at Winter Lake Road, State Road 540, southeast to U.S. 17. Construction is scheduled to continue through 2029 at a cost of about 257 million dollars.
Schedules change in the field. Polk County notes on every closure notice that dates and times are subject to change. FDOT’s District One contact for the weekly report is Janella Newsome, at 863-519-2828 or [email protected].
All schedules are subject to change based on weather and conditions in the field. Speeding fines are doubled in Florida work zones when workers are present.
Sources: Polk County Government news releases, polkfl.gov, Sept. 4, 2026; “Lane Closure Scheduled on U.S. 17,” Florida Department of Transportation District One, swflroads.com, Sept. 4, 2026; “U.S. 17/92 Closed at Ernie Caldwell Boulevard in Davenport,” Florida Department of Transportation District One, swflroads.com, Sept. 2, 2026; District One Districtwide RoadWatch Report #35, Florida Department of Transportation, swflroads.com, Aug. 27, 2026; Polk County lane closures listing, Florida Department of Transportation District Seven, fdottampabay.com, accessed Sept. 8, 2026; Polk County construction and all phases project lists, Florida Department of Transportation District One, swflroads.com, accessed Sept. 8, 2026.
