12+ Mile Trail to Connect Auburndale to Haines City in the SUN Trail Network
by James Coulter
Residents will be able to walk or cycle their way between Auburndale to Haines City now that county commissioners have approved an agreement between Polk County and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for the Old Dixie Trail Project.
At their regular meeting on Tues. Apr. 15, the Polk County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) reviewed an item from County Manager Bill Beasley about the Old Dixie Trail Project, a proposed trail that would build 12.81 miles of paved multi-use trail connecting Auburndale to Haines City.
Jay M. Jarvis, Roads & Drainage Division Director, wrote in the agenda item that the project would include “a 10-foot to 12-foot-wide ADA compliant multi-use trail” that would close a gap in the SUN Trail Network “by linking the TECO-Auburndale/Van Fleet Trails to the Haines City Trailhead.”
Polk County will enter a Local Agency Program (LAP) Agreement with FDOT, which will include $2,000,335 for design services. However, as Jarvis explained, “Polk County agrees to bear all expenses more than the total cost of the project and any deficits incurred should FDOT not cover these additional costs.” As such, the county will establish a budget of $2,000,335 in the Special Revenue Grants Fund within the Roads and Drainage Sidewalk CIP Project.
County commissioners motioned and seconded for the approval of the agreement, and the motion passed with a unanimous vote.
