Lakeland officials are ready to forge ahead with finishing South Florida Avenue, in hopes of getting rid of the Dixieland road diet’s “obnoxious” million-dollar concrete bunkers.
City commissioners will vote Monday on whether to enter negotiations with a top-ranked Bartow firm, Patel Greene & Associates, to design the final look of South Florida Avenue from Ariana Street north to Lime Street.
“The city has agreed to fund and manage the design phase for this Florida Department of Transportation project to reduce total project costs and expedite the construction,” City Manager Shawn Sherrouse said.
“We were very pleased with the responses we received,” Ryan Lazenby, the city’s civil engineering manager, said. “All of these firms are nationally recognized firms with a presence in Polk County or the City of Lakeland. All of them are pre-qualified with FDOT.”
The city is moving forward with designing the roadway despite not having a financial agreement with the FDOT.
Lazenby told commissioners he has reviewed a drafted agreement along with Sherrouse and the city’s Community and Economic Development department and financial offices. He anticipates having a final agreement in hand by Oct. 4.
If all goes well, Lazenby said construction could be ready to begin in the fall of 2026 ― more than nine years after the study was approved.