SR 570 Polk Parkway Widening from I-4 to Pace Road

The SR 570 Polk Parkway Widening from I-4 to Pace Road was a $25 million design-build project in Polk County, Florida. The previous roadway was too narrow for the high traffic demands needed for motorists, and provided inconvenient access for the Florida Polytechnic University's new campus.

DRMP joined Southland Construction and Middlesex Companies in a joint venture for this project. The design for the project consisted of a 3-mile conversion of Polk Parkway from a 2-lane, 2-way operation to a 4-lane divided section. As part of this work, a new interchange was constructed at Pace Road consisting of three diamond ramps and a loop ramp. Work also included a new 141-foot long concrete girder, and the widening of an existing 2-lane bridge to three lanes while maintaining the same bridge length of 136-feet. DRMP was responsible for designing a new southbound bridge over a proposed local road.

DRMP’s design was able to update SR 570 with sufficient infrastructure to meet the growing traffic demands on the limited-access road, and the new interchange served as a convenient access road for the 1,300 students at the new Florida Polytechnic University campus. The design-build enabled DRMP and contractors to quickly get the improved system open to motorists in time for the new campus opening without extensively impeding traffic.