WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Drivers in Winter Haven say rough roads near Borden Dairy Co. are making their daily commute a headache.
Kathy Boyett drives Avenue K SW every day to get to work.
“It's not a smooth drive whatsoever. My, my car is rickety, coming or going,” Boyett said.
She said the roads between US Highway 17 and 6th Street are so uneven, she worries it is damaging her car.
“I try to be on a certain side that I find is less rickety, because I'm always afraid that I'm going to get my car out of alignment,” Boyett said.
I went to check it out for myself and saw multiple potholes and dips in the road on Avenue K. Drivers say it’s been like that for years.
“Our customers have complained about it. How bad the road is trying to get in and out of the businesses. So, there is definitely road work that needs to be done in this area,” Tom Roberts said.
I brought their concerns to both City and County leaders. The City of Winter Haven and Polk County are each responsible for different portions of Avenue K.
“As Avenue K crosses 6th Street, that part of Avenue K is the City’s. Everything before that and all the way back to Highway 17 is the County’s,” said Katrina Hill with City of Winter Haven.
Leaders said they were not aware of the road damage. Wednesday morning, after I reached out, the County patched up holes on Avenue K. Although no potholes were found on the City-owned portion of the street, Winter Haven crews were out assessing the road.
City leaders said residents can report road damage on the Access Winter Haven app.
“Since January, in the Access Winter Haven app, we’ve had citizens report 58 potholes. All of them have been patched and the tickets close out in less than six days,” Hill said.
Drivers say they will be watching closely to make sure the repairs hold, and the road finally gets a permanent fix.
“They just threw in patching, but they’ve never resurfaced that area, since I’ve been around. So that’s what I think they need to do,” Roberts said.
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