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Polk Makes Case To Use Stimulus Money For Infrastructure Projects

Posted Jan 13, 2009 by Jennifer Leigh

Updated Jan 13, 2009 at 03:29 PM

Polk County Manager Mike Herr hopes to cash in on any stimulus package that Congress passes, especially if it includes dollars for infrastructure.  Herr sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist this month detailing some “shovel ready” projects in Polk that are simply waiting for funding.

Among the wish list of infrastructure improvements is a project to make two stretches of U.S. Highway 27 in eastern Polk into six lanes.  One stretch extends from I-4 to U.S. Highway 192 near the Lake County Line.  The other stretch extends from State Road 540 to State Road 542.  Herr’s “shovel ready” letter to the Governor also includes a new four lane roadway connecting the Polk Parkway with West Pipkin Road in south Lakeland, a new two lane road that would create an alternate route into Auburndale, improvements to the 22-year-old Polk County Courthouse in Bartow, and a new Winter Haven Area Transit terminal.

The entire list totals more than $209 million in infrastructure projects, and Herr says they’re all necessary.  “You know these are much needed projects. These aren’t ‘let’s just do it for the sake of doing it because we can get some dollars.’ These are much needed projects,” Herr said.

So what exactly does shovel-ready mean?  Herr describes it like this.  “The project has been designed. It means that you have permits in hand and you’re ready to go to the bidding process to receive construction bids.”  In other words, as soon as the money flows the dirt can turn.

Herr is confident Congress will pass some stimulus plan that includes dollars for infrastructure, and although no one asked him for his “shovel ready” list, he wanted to provide one to demonstrate to federal lawmakers Polk is ready.