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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.

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.

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.

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.