This browser does not support the Video element.
SunRail's Polk County expansion
A commuter rail line that could connect Lakeland and Orlando is one step closer. This isn’t the high-speed Brightline, it’s SunRail.
POLK COUNTY, Fla. - A commuter rail line that could connect Lakeland and Orlando is one step closer. This isn’t the high-speed Brightline, it’s SunRail.
The Florida Department of Transportation is recommending a possible route for SunRail with seven stops across Polk County.
Polk County is the fastest growing county in the state, and planners are looking for ways to head off congestion.
READ: Brightline talks Tampa expansion with community leaders
"With this population growth, one of the key challenges is transportation congestion.-traffic congestion," said Parag Agrawal, the executive director of the Polk Transportation Organization.
The current proposal would extend SunRail from its existing station in Poinciana, through Polk County to stops in Haines City, Davenport, Lake Alfred, Auburndale, and finally Lakeland, 37 miles away.
The proposed plan for SunRail stops in Polk County
But the plan could hit a bump with Polk County Commissioners, one of the bodies that would need to approve the plan.
"What’s wrong with it is that we do not have an unlimited supply of money," Commissioner Neil Combee said. "This will come at a tremendous cost."
The project could cost more than $350 million for just the first phase, a 16-mile stretch from Poinciana to Haines City.
Some question whether the train would succeed in reducing traffic on I-4.
"It doesn’t go anywhere that anybody's going to want to go," says Polk County Commissioner Bill Braswell. "It goes to Downtown Orlando Monday through Friday."
Braswell says SunRail currently doesn’t go to Disney World or International Drive where a lot of workers from Polk County have jobs.
He says the money would be better spent widening I-4 and adding express lanes. But others question whether enough lanes can be added to keep up with growth.
"Our population is 800,000 now, and it is projected to be 1.2 million by 2045," says Agrawal.
Much of the construction costs would be paid by the state and federal governments, but local governments would likely have to pay for everyday operations.
With fewer groves and bigger neighborhoods, the tracks are a dividing line in fast-growing Polk County.
If approved by the Polk County Commission and other officials, the entire line through Polk County wouldn’t open until 2035 at the earliest.