Design and Engineering Services Approved for Thompson Nursery Road Extension Project
by James Coulter
Thompson Nursery Road is closer to being extended now that engineering design and permitting services have been approved by county commissioners.
At their regular meeting on Tues. Jan. 20, the Polk County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) voted unanimously to approve an amendment to an agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates for the Thompson Nursery Road Extension project.
The amendment will allow Kimley-Horn and Associates to provide professional engineering design and permitting services, right-of-way acquisition support, and bidding assistance.
These services will be provided at a not-to-exceed cost of $4,119,689.30, which will bring the cost of the overall project to $10,374,920.95.
Thompson Nursery Road is expected to undergo an expansion into a “proposed four-lane urban collector roadway” with seven miles of new or widened roadway extending “from US 17 at SR 540 to US 27 at Thompson Nursery Road.”
This extension will be implemented within five segments across two phases. These segments include:
Phase I – Segment 1: SR 540 at US 17 to CR 655 (Rifle Range Road) at Eloise Loop Road
Phase I – Segment 2: CR 655 (Rifle Range Road) at Eloise Loop Rd to East of CSX R/W
Phase I – Segment 3: East of CSX Railroad R/W to Eloise Loop Road
Phase I – Segment 4: Eloise Loop Road to W. Lake Ruby Drive at Thompson Nursery Road
Phase II: Thompson Nursery Road at West Lake Ruby Drive to US 27
This multi-year roadway expansion has been proposed to help accommodate rapid population and commercial growth between U.S. 17 and U.S. 27.
Overall traffic is expected to increase by 21,000 to 22,000 new residents in the next few years, as reported by WFLA News Channel 8.
