Polk County recently started construction on the 2.4-mile Fort Fraser Trail extension between US 98 and Lakeland Highlands Road (CR 37B).

The Fort Fraser trail currently runs parallel to US 98 between Winter Lake Road (State Road 540) in Lakeland to State Road 60 in Bartow, with trailheads at Polk State College in Lakeland and in Highland City. Once the extension is complete it will connect more than 36 miles of paved and unpaved multi-use trails.

Land donations for the extension were provided by the Hollaway family and Orlando Health to provide a trail corridor just south of the Polk Parkway.

Along with additional trail improvements planned for Glendale Street and Lakeland Highlands Road, a contiguous trail will extend from Lakeland’s Lake-to-Lake system of trails to Circle B Bar Reserve and Bartow.  A long-standing priority of the Polk TPO, the paved trail is being developed jointly by the City of Lakeland, the Polk County government and the Florida Department of Transportation.