Polk County Emergency Management
Update
Polk County’s scheduled opening of the new Thornhill Road Bridge in unincorporated Winter Haven has been postponed due to heavy localized storms delaying striping and other finishing work. Weather permitting, the bridge is expected to open today (Friday) afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
For more details, contact Bill Skelton with the Polk County Roads & Drainage Division at 863-535-2200.
Thursday, August 17
Polk County will open the new Thornhill Road Bridge spanning Lake Lena Run about one-mile south of the State Road 540 (Winter Lake Road) intersection in unincorporated Winter Haven this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. The old bridge was closed April 17 and the new $2.7 million structure opens to traffic one-month ahead of schedule after three-months of construction. Polk County incentivized the bridge contractor to complete the new bridge sooner than the 150 contract days allowed.
Thornhill Road is traveled by about 8,000 vehicles per day. The old bridge constructed in 1960 was classified as functionally obsolete in-part due to its substandard travel lanes, numerous guardrail collisions, and ongoing deterioration. To relieve the substandard condition, the new Thornhill Road bridge features two 12-foot wide travel lanes with 8-foot wide paved shoulders, and a 5-foot wide sidewalk on the west side of the structure.
For more details, contact Bill Skelton with the Polk County Roads & Drainage Division at 863-535-2200.