WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — It's been two months since portions of Eloise Loop Road closed up in Winter Haven, and that work was just extended.

What You Need To Know

A lot of it has to do with growth.

"There's constantly expansion of water lines and sewer lines and all the communications,” said Jay Jarvis of Polk County public utilities.  "All the utilities in addition to road improvements. And all that results in some kind of impact to the traveling public."

The location is Eloise Loop Road between Rifle Range Road and Eagle Lake Loop Road.

The work started in June and ran into some snags due to the clay soil. The clay is not ideal for supporting underground pipes.

Specialized equipment to work through that issue did not arrive in the time the contractor expected.

So the city asked the county for another six weeks to finish the project.

The road is closed to thru traffic.

Jarvis says the biggest concern was emergency equipment. Could they get where they needed to be quickly?

"The city of Winter Haven has a fire station on one side,” Jarvis said. “The county has one on the other side. So, basically if there's a call here, 'You all may want to respond, because you'll get there quicker than we do if we have to go all the way around' - type thing. There's a lot of coordination that goes on."

The project will continue through September. The current detour for through traffic is Eagle Lake Loop Road to Rifle Range Road.