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Scenic Highway Closure, Detour to Last 30 Days, FDOT Says

Busy Throughway to be Closed from Winston Avenue to Alvina

Robert Connors

A 30-day blockage of a portion of South Scenic Highway will allow Florida Department of Transportation crews to improve drainage systems in the area and resurface the roadway.

A busy stretch of South Scenic Highway in Lake Wales will be closed for at least 30 days beginning Monday, June 17 between Winston Avenue and Alvina Avenue, a distance of about four blocks. Florida Department of Transportation crews have closed Scenic Highway from Grove Avenue to Hillcrest Avenue.

The closure will require a detour for motorists using the roadway, routing traffic along South 4th Street to avoid construction.

The Florida Department of Transportation will be focused on reconstructing storm-water drainage pipes and inlets in the area, and will resurface the stretch when that work is completed.

According to Sandra Mancil, spokesperson for FDOT, the project includes "adding curb inlets, cross drains, and pipe to improve drainage , reconstructing curb, gutter and sidewalk on the west side of Scenic Highway, improving ADA accessibility at sidewalk curb ramps, replacing guardrail, updating signs and reconstructing the intersection at Hillcrest Avenue."

Robert Connors

This intersection of Scenic Highway and Hillcrest Avenue will be reconstructed after the installation of new drainage infrastructure adjacent to Lake Serena. The hillside visible in the background is the site of the planned Steeple Chase development.

The steep slope of the roads in that area has seen at least two roadway wash-out failures after storms in recent years. The water currently drains to the bottom of the hills and collects at a spillway leading into tiny Lake Serena, a small sinkhole pond also known by some as Dollar Lake, which lies at the bottom of an even steeper slope.

The zone where the construction will take place is also the site of a planned new street connection which will serve as an entrance to the Steeple Chase residential development, which was approved by the city commission late last year. That new street will run along the northern edge of Dollar Lake and connect to Scenic Highway between Grove and Hillcrest Avenues.

Courtesy City of Lake Wales

The Steeple Chase residential development will have an entrance from Scenic Highway between Grove and Hillcrest Avenues, within the area where the closure and repairs will take place.

This drainage improvement project includes adding curb inlets, cross drains, and pipe to improve drainage , reconstructing curb, gutter and sidewalk on the west side of Scenic Highway, improving ADA accessibility at sidewalk curb ramps, replacing guardrail, updating signs and reconstructing the intersection at Hillcrest Avenue.

Motorists should follow the posted detour using Winston Avenue, South 4th Street and Domaris Avenue. Truck traffic will be detoured using Hunt Brothers Road, US 27 and East Mountain Lake Cutoff Road. The project is scheduled to be completed in late 2024.

Detours will be marked with signage during the closure.

 

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