FDOT tells Lakeland that funding to move the Dixieland road diet forward is a city problem

Lakeland drivers should expect to keep navigating Dixieland's "ugly" concrete bunkers for at least another three years, if not longer.

Lakeland officials learned Monday that the state expects the city to find the funds necessary to complete South Florida Avenue's redesign, better known as the "road diet," according to a Florida Department of Transportation official.

District One Secretary L.K. Nandam said the road's narrowing from five lanes to three was a "community centric" project — done at the request of Lakeland residents.

"Whether we misunderstood in the beginning ... that this was a community endeavor that really wouldn't have any funding programmed for a decade, I don't know if anyone would have said yes," Commissioner Stephanie Madden said. "I feel like our citizens are frustrated because they thought it was a year-long test then we could remove the barricade to go back to how it was before. Now we are realizing the barricades, even though they are temporary, it's really only temporary till we are funded to go to whatever we design.

In December 2022, the City Commission voted 4 to 1 to recommend to FDOT that the mile-long corridor be left as three lanes, one travel lane each direction with a central turn lane and extended sidewalks measuring 11 to 12 feet on each side. At that time, design work was anticipated to take 12 to 18 months.

On Monday afternoon, Nandam said he understood the city was now ready to start the design work to convert South Florida Avenue to its final configuration. Ryan Lazenby, Lakeland's engineering manager, said the final design is a minimum 18 to 24 months out as engineers are discovering "extremely old" infrastructure underneath the street.

"The problem is we really haven't done anything for 24 months. That's really the problem," Mayor Bill Mutz said. "While everyone was feeling like things were progressing, we weren't doing anything. That's sobering."

Nandam said that first, the city needs to determine who will do what between the city and the state. Then the parties should determine what the scope of the project is, what the cost will be and what the financial partnership will look like. That last part will require the city to reach a memorandum of understanding in which a funding agreement between the city, FDOT and any potential funding partners is clearly laid out.

The FDOT has set aside $1.5 million this budget year and next year toward South Florida Avenue's reconstruction, Nandam said, with a larger sum of $6 million budgeted in 2026-27.

The roughly $9 million in funding from the FDOT is not anticipated to be anywhere near enough to completely redesign the Dixieland corridor. The cost of asphalt alone has increased by about 50% in recent years because of inflation, Nandam said.

"Costs have gone up so much, we know the project will cost more than what we included in the project's budget," he said. "What we need from the city is what kind of investment can you bring toward construction."

Nandam pointed out that the reconstruction of the Interstate 4 interchange at State Road 33 starts later this year, funded under Moving Florida Forward. He suggested the city could take its roughly $3 million commitment to the interchange and reallocate it to South Florida Avenue.

But Lazenby said there are restrictions on those funds, including that part of the money came from the city's Northern District impact fees. The South Florida Avenue segment falls within the city's Southern District for impact fee allotment.

Lakeland was encouraged to look for potential funding partners who might be interested in seeing the road's redesign hastened. The city could also choose to fund the project upfront and attempt to work out a reimbursement agreement with FDOT.

"It requires creative thinking as partners between the two agencies and the community," Nandam said. "A partnership will be critical for us to enhance this project."

It will not be possible for Lakeland to seek federal money to help refurbish the Dixieland corridor, Nandam said. He said using even $1 on the project would require it meet a more complex set of federal highway and roadway standards.

Lazenby said Lakeland should have a better idea of the project's total costs as design and engineering work advances. The FDOT should be able to work with the city on a funding agreement while the design work is underway, Nandam said.

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"The short answer is no. We don't have the money. We're not sure where we are going to get the money," Commissioner Bill Read said. "Everyone out here is experiencing everything we are. Florida Avenue is being inundated with traffic, people are shooting off into smaller roads, and we're having to get speed bumps on every street. I think there's more traffic, I think there's more accidents, personally."

Read asked whether it was possible for the city to remove the concrete barriers.

The FDOT would allow the concrete barriers to be removed, Nandam said, but it was always understood that would be at the city's cost.

Even if the bunkers were taken out, South Florida Avenue would not be allowed to return to five lanes. Nandam said at best, the roadway could be made four 10-foot lanes across, two travel lanes in each direction. The state would be willing to restripe the roadway.

"What is the vision for the corridor? What is the vision for the surrounding area," he asked. "Are we moving in that direction?"

Chuck Barmby, Lakeland's planning and transportation manager, said he felt there's been significant progress in the South Florida Avenue since December 2022. Barmby said Belvedere Street had been restored to its original brick, there were improvements on Hillcrest Street and speed bumps on Missouri Avenue to slow down crossing traffic from either direction.

Barmby said the city continues to discuss improvements to U.S. 98/Bartow Road with FDOT, an important arterial road that could help alleviate traffic on South Florida Avenue. Also, he said construction of South Florida Avenue would have to be delayed at this point given a number of major road construction projects getting underway in Lakeland.

"It will take time with South Florida Avenue," he said. "We are probably looking at a few years before permanent three-lane configuration is done because of the complexity of the corridor. There need to be other routes to handle traffic."That puts the earliest date for the state of reconstruction in approximately 2027, Barmby said, if design work and funding come together.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: FDOT says Lakeland needs to come up with money for Dixieland road diet