The westbound Interstate 4 on-ramp at Kathleen Road in north Lakeland is closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day of the coming week, the most disruptive item on a list of roughly three dozen work zones across Polk County from Sunday, Sept. 27 through Saturday, Oct. 3. Unlike almost everything else on this week’s list, that closure lands in the middle of the working day rather than overnight. The Florida Department of Transportation is replacing the CSX railroad bridge approximately 1,200 feet west of Kathleen Road, at Exit 31, and the same ramp closes again from 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Monday through Friday nights. The posted alternate runs north on Kathleen Road, east on Griffin Road to U.S. 98, then north on U.S. 98 to the westbound on-ramp at Exit 32.
Two other areas to prepare for. Starting Monday, Sept. 28, crews open a coring operation on Interstate 4 between U.S. 27 and State Road 655, closing alternating travel lanes overnight from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. for what the department expects to be two to three weeks. In Bartow, the full closure of Old Bartow Lake Wales Road at State Road 60, in place since Sept. 8, is scheduled to end at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30.
Drivers wanting same-day confirmation can reach FDOT District One at (863) 519-2828.
Interstate 4
The coring work is new this week and covers the longest single stretch of interstate under closure in the county. FDOT says it will close alternating eastbound and westbound travel lanes between U.S. 27 and State Road 655, better known as Recker Highway, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. beginning Monday, Sept. 28…