Major changes could be coming to Kathleen Road. But for now, a 20-week closure

A nearly one-mile stretch of Kathleen Road near its northern apex might soon be closed for roughly 20 weeks for construction of turn lanes, retention ponds and improved stormwater drainage for a new single-family home development.

The developer of Fox Branch Ranch, being built on land owned by Forestar Group Inc., has an agreement with the county to pay for the road improvements, Polk's roads and drainage director Jay Jarvis said via phone Wednesday.

The retention ponds are necessary for stormwater runoff from the additional paving at the entrance of Fox Branch and other impervious surfaces associated with the development. The improvements are required in order to comply with county and Southwest Florida Water Management District stormwater regulations, Jarvis said.

A Kathleen Road extension?

But that might not be the end of major work on Kathleen Road north of Duff Road.

The county has also considered a traffic signal or roundabout at Campbell Road, and there's a lot of discussion about widening Kathleen north of from Duff Road and extending it to U.S. 98, Jarvis said.

The county has applied for state and federal funding for widening of that segment, he said. It did not get any state funding so far.

The county recently was notified that it will receive $2 million of a $5 million request from the federal government toward the widening of the road to U.S. 98, Jarvis said. Once released, that funding is expected to go toward an engineering and road alignment study.

The current thinking is the future four-lane extension of Kathleen Road would go to Rockridge Road and then onto U.S. 98. That widening and extension project would take an estimated $100 million, and it could take more than eight years before cars and trucks will be able to drive it. And that's if the funding is approved sooner rather than later.

The eventual extension of Kathleen would connect the westside of Lakeland to U.S. 98 for less congested drive times, Jarvis said.

Road construction taking too long

There was little public comment nor commissioner comments about road construction at Tuesday’s regularly scheduled commission meeting. But at the agenda review on April 12, the commissioners got bucket loads of information about the Kathleen Road project, among others across the county.

Several commissioners told Jarvis, the board wanted the proposed contract with Winter Haven-based Tucker Paving Inc. to have language spelling out there would be a completion date or the contractor would face penalties for missing the deadline.

Commission Chairman Bill Braswell said the county should not be approving projects unless the contractor is ready to start work and finish the project in a reasonable time.

He cited the extra-long wait residents had for the Adams Road turn lane project in unincorporated Auburndale because the contractor could not locate materials for the project.

Commissioner Neil Combee added Eloise Loop as another example of road projects taking too long. Commissioner George Lindsey mentioned Pipkin Road.

They also moaned about the length of time it’s taking to four-lane a portion of the Polk Parkway and the closure of the eastbound exit for Winter Lake Road, which closed in March and is expected to be shut for 18 months. The parkway projects are not under county control.

However, for the projects that are, “We’ve got to get out of the habit of approving these things until people are ready,” Braswell said as the board discussed the upcoming contract for the Kathleen Road project.

“We treat the citizens that live there as if their time is of no value. Their time is valuable,” he said.

Tucker had representatives in the room at the April 12 gathering, and they were on board saying they preferred a 20-week road closure with a detour and could start work in May. But if the commission preferred to leave a lane open during the project instead, it could take 47 weeks to finish the Kathleen Road work.

Braswell said he preferred to do the shorter of the two. The county has also posted a detour map and notice of a 20-week closure of Kathleen Road to its Facebook page.

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Regarding the detour, the commissioners said there must be signs asking trucks to stay out of the residential area to the east of Kathleen Road as cars wind their way through the detour. That portion of Kathleen typically attracts trucks trying to get to U.S. 98.

For cars traveling northbound on Kathleen Road, the detour would route them down West Campbell Road, then to North Campbell Road and then a left turn back to Kathleen Road along Raulerson Road. Local traffic would be allowed to use Kathleen Road so residents can drive to their homes. Motorists would utilize the same route southbound but in the opposite direction.

A contract for the Kathleen Road widening project could go before the commission for a vote in less than two weeks or early May as county staff works on finalizing an agreement with the developer and their contractor.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: What changes are coming to Kathleen Road? For now, a 20-week closure