Scott Lake Road Reopened As Sinkhole Repair Progresses

Scott Lake Road reopened to traffic at 2 p.m. Tuesday, four days after a sinkhole opened up on private property nearby.

Contractors for the property owners have been working to stabilize and backfill the 80-foot-wide, 25-foot-deep hole using excavators and dump trucks full of dirt. The repair is not yet complete, but Polk County Communications Director Mianne Nelson said there are no safety concerns for drivers.

“The road has never been in danger,” she said.

The road had been closed between Fitzgerald Road and Old Scott Lake Road since Friday. Nelson said the primary reason was to allow heavy equipment to access the site.

The county is not directly involved with the sinkhole because it is on private land, but it has been monitoring the situation to ensure that it does not spread to public roads or right-of-way.

“Our roads and drainage people have been out there all day,” Nelson said.

The sinkhole is on a three-parcel property totaling 9.73 acres that sold for $950,000 in April 2021. The real estate listing touted the property as being in the zip code with the “highest median income of any place in Polk County.”

According to the real estate website Zillow, homes adjacent to the property range in value from about $525,000 to $778,000.

The buyer – Acres at Scott Lake, LLC – is registered to Debra and Joseph Kedzuf of Lakeland, whose family owns Exxact Express trucking and logistics.

Acres at Scott Lake is a planned residential subdivision of six homes. Site clearing and preparation for construction began last July. Roggen Clyne Development posted several pictures of the site preparation on its website.

The Polk County Commission unanimously approved the plat for the project as part of its consent agenda on March 7.

The impact of the sinkhole on the project is unclear.