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Lakeland’s much-debated South Florida Avenue road diet has reached a major milestone: the project is now 60% through the design phase. Construction expected to begin in spring 2027.
City officials shared new renderings Friday, Feb. 13, of what the rebuilt corridor from Ariana Street to Lime Street will look like.
For the first time, the design includes a mid-block pedestrian crossing between Belmar Street and Park Street, near Born & Bread Bakehouse. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has approved the crossing to help pedestrians navigate one of the busiest sections of State Road 37, according to Civil Engineering Manager Ryan Lazenby.
A long wait for the payoff
To drivers, South Florida Avenue may seem frozen in time — with the same concrete barriers that went up in 2020. For the past six years, motorists have experienced the inconvenience of the road diet without yet seeing benefits.
The new renderings, created with the assistance of drones, show wide sidewalks with brick ribbons, historic-style streetlights and shade trees — features officials hope will make the Dixieland area feel like an extension of downtown.
“We also have in the design a couple of little strategic places … where we have reserved space for some public art, if the city should desire to do that,” Lazenby said.
What drivers can expect during construction
Commissioner Mike Musick asked how traffic will be handled once construction starts.
Lazenby said the work will have to be phased “one lane at a time,” like Lakeland Hills Boulevard. Left turns will likely be limited in certain areas to keep vehicles moving.
That means rush-hour backups and delays could worsen — at least temporarily — as the corridor transitions from its current configuration to its permanent design.
Busy behind the scenes
Lazenby told city commissioners that a great deal has been happening behind the scenes, including pavement engineering, right-of-way acquisition, and multiple rounds of FDOT review.
According to Lazenby, if the current timeline holds:
Design will be 90% complete by July 20, 2026.
It will be 100% complete by Dec. 31, 2026.
The project will be ready to go out to bid in February 2027, with construction beginning soon after.
He said crews have placed paint markings in the corridor and drilled more than 100 test holes to locate underground utilities, ahead of eventual construction.
Price tag and who pays for what
Lazenby noted that the road realignment was driven primarily by safety concerns. South Florida Avenue was considered a “high-crash corridor” with 8½-foot lanes instead of the standard 11-foot lanes and sidewalks that were non-ADA-compliant and placed pedestrians too close to cars.
The city is contributing about $5 million for “extras” such as upgraded sidewalks and landscaping that aren’t typical of an FDOT road project. The state’s share of construction is $22.6 million.
In all, FDOT has set aside $27.6 million for the project in its fiscal 2027 work program, he said.
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