LAKELAND, Fla. — It’s been two decades since the road Lakeland resident Kimberly Smith lives on has been paved.
The condition of Merrick Road in front of her home was enough to get her to contact Bay News 9 Real Time Traffic Expert Chuck Henson.
"They come out here and throw a spoonful of, or a shovel full of asphalt to sort of patch up a hole and in seventeen years, that's all they've done,” Smith said.
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Merrick Road is a small residential street between Ralph Road and Mineola Drive. They feed out to the larger north Combee Road.
Previous patches and cracks in the road show the wear and tear. Smith said there's a drainage issue too.
"Especially the way the road is banked,” she said. “It pools water. When it rains I can't even check my mail."
Her driveway is busted up because of the standing water from the side of the road. But more importantly, this is a safety issue.
"I'm disabled and I have a mobility scooter,” she said. “And it gets caught in the asphalt that's loose and the ground that's not flat and it makes it hard for me to use the scooter to walk my dog."
She feels like the county has forgotten about her street and hopes to get some paving crews out as soon as possible.
But based on information from the county, it looks like Smith and her neighbors may be waiting even longer.
According to Polk County Transportation Director Jay Jarvis, they use a pavement management software system to determine the work plan, year to year.
“At this time this roadway has not been selected for Pavement Management and is not currently on our 5-Year Projected Work Plan,” Jarvis said.
Smith’s best bet at this point may be to contact the county after its fiscal year ends on October 1 to see if the road has been selected for future paving.