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An effort to reduce or eliminate fatal crashes at a dangerous intersection east of Lake Wales will see the Florida Department of Transportation closing crossing traffic in favor of U-turns.

The intersection includes Boy Scout road, which runs north of SR 60 and serves Lake Kissimmee State Park and the Lakes Rosalie and Kissimmee areas. South of SR 60, Walk-in-the-water Road serves a growing number of residents, as well as serving as a connector to CR 630.

Courtesy FDOT

THe new intersection configuration at Boy Scout Road will allow left turns from SR 60, but prevent left turns entering SR 60, instead requiring U-turns. It will also prevent all future crossing traffic.

Traffic on the two connector roads will be diverted toward u-turn lanes both during and after construction, forcing north-bound traffic from the Lake Walk-in-the-water area to turn east before making a U-turn to head into Lake Wales.

Similarly, southbound traffic will turn west before heading east.

According to FDOT, full crossing intersections have 18 major potential conflicts, while restricted-turn intersections such as will be created have only four.

The intersection has seen a number of serious and fatal crashes in recent years. The four-laning of the highway nearly 30 years ago did much to remove its reputation as "Suicide 60" but eliminating serious crashes has remained a goal of FDOT for many years.

Construction on the modifications are expected to begin this spring.