Inside Charlotte County's effort to keep roads, canals and neighborhoods running

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — WINK News got a behind-the-scenes look at Charlotte County Public Works to see what goes into keeping the county running every day.

Inside the Traffic Management Center, Signal System Specialist Katie Lukasek monitors county roads.

When asked which intersection drivers should pay close attention to, Lukasek pointed to Veterans Boulevard and Kings Highway.

“Veterans and King’s Highway is probably like the biggest issue that we have,” Lukasek said. “There’s a lot of traffic going there, moving from 75 or from DeSoto County into our county. So I would say that one.”

Kings Highway is also the site of a major widening project.

When asked about the biggest project impacting drivers right now, Charlotte County Public Works Public Relations Manager Chad Ray pointed to the Kings Highway widening project.

“It’ll be going for roughly October of next year, we’re extending lanes, extending turn lanes, basically to alleviate the congestion on that I-75 corridor there,” Ray said.

Crews also gave WINK News a look at some of the smaller details involved in maintaining county roads.

During a demonstration, maintenance crews showed how pavement markings are put down. 

Crews outline a template, apply the paint and then add glass beads for reflectivity, helping the markings show up when hit by vehicle headlights.

Some of the county’s work takes crews into canals.

Public Works demonstrated the Menzi Muck, specialized equipment used to access canals and clear weeds, silt, mud and other blockages that can stop stormwater from moving.

Charlotte County Mosquito and Aquatic Weed Control also showed WINK News how crews monitor mosquito populations.

Biological Specialist Beth Kovach said Charlotte County has 40 different species of mosquitoes.

“Charlotte County has 40 different species of mosquitoes, which many people do not realize. Every species has specific habitats that they come from, so it’s important for us to continually monitor,” Kovach said.

One method crews use is called a landing rate count.

“We monitor the populations doing surveillance, such as landing rate counts, where a technician will take a standing count for one minute and count how many mosquitoes land on them,” Kovach said.

Dr. Laura Kraft, manager of Charlotte County Mosquito and Aquatic Weed Control, said the county has seen a significant amount of salt marsh mosquitoes this year.

“We’ve been having quite a big salt marsh mosquito year, and it turns out that the eggs of those salt marsh mosquitoes can lie dormant for several years before hatching out,” Kraft said.

Charlotte County also manages residential curbside services, including recycling and illegal dumping.

Keri Dutton said the county works with Waste Management, its franchise hauler, to provide those services. Charlotte County currently has a 71% recycling rate, according to Dutton.

“We’re one of the top recycling counties… We are 71% recycling rate right now for the state,” Dutton said.

Dutton also discussed an expansion of the county landfill.

“Right now we’re roughly 95 feet. We had a permit for 135, and we just got the expansion to go to 199 feet,” Dutton said.

For Chad Purdy, who works in the county’s signing and marking division, helping the community is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.