POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Some help is coming to a dangerous intersection in the ChampionsGate area.
Gene Wakkuri say it’s challenging turning from Westside Boulevard onto Ronald Reagan Parkway.
What You Need To Know
- Left turns off Westside to Ronald Reagan Parkway are dangerous, local resident says
- Polk plans to install a traffic signal, county officials say
- Construction could start in 2022 or 2023, according to officials
- Let Spectrum News 13 know about a traffic concern
“Take your life into your own hands,” Wakkuri says.
It feels like you can wait forever at the intersection to find a narrow opening to turn left off Westside and onto Ronald Reagan Parkway, he says.
Sometimes drivers waiting to turn become impatient.
“I was waiting, and a truck pulled out into the right lane and came all the way up even with me, just drove right out into the intersection, stopped traffic to the left of me, cut in front of the people waiting to turn left and went into the other lane of traffic and stopped a car there and drove on,” Wakkuri says.
He would like to see a traffic signal installed at the intersection.
Spectrum News 13 reached out to Polk County, and officials there have plans to add a traffic signal in next year’s budget.
“We will be hiring a consultant to design and permit the signal and then move forward with construction,” Polk County Roads Director Jay Jarvis says. “We estimate that this will take about two years to complete.”
Construction could start in 2022 or 2023.
For Wakkuri, that means less time in traffic and more time on the golf course.
“It would be a godsend because, you know, you’re going to get through the intersection in a matter of a couple of minutes,” he said.
If you have a traffic issue or question, send Jerry Hume a message on the Spectrum News App or on the website.