1. General Information: Region 7 Transportation Maintenance
is responsible for the maintenance of all State highways and bridges
in the five northern most counties of New York State: Clinton, Franklin,
Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence. This large geographical region
encompasses about 4000 lane miles of State highways and 400 bridges. 2. Staffing Levels: Currently Region 7 Maintenance includes about 400
operational and 30 engineering/clerical employees working in 28 different
facilities throughout the Region. 3. What Type of Work Does the Transportation Maintenance group
do? Everything from paving highways and repairing bridge decks in the summer
to plowing and salting roads in the winter. Some typical annual accomplishments
include:
State Forces Paving: 100 lane miles
Vendor Placed Paving: 150 lane miles
Guiderail Repair: 200,000 linear feet
Signs Replaced/Repaired: 8000
Mowing: 8000 Shoulder Miles
Ditching: 200,000 linear feet
Accident Responses: 150
Snow Plow Miles: 1,500,000
Bridges Washed: 300
Bridges Repaired: 150
Pavement Marking: 8,000 line miles
4. What Type of Winter Weather Information Does the DOT
Maintenance group have available and what is available to other DOT
employees and
the public?
Many different tools are used by Maintenance forces in the battle against
winter weather. DOT employs a private weather contractor (Accuweather)
to provide periodic reports specifically tailored to DOT’s needs
and operations. Reports are provided via fax to all DOT shops, and
are usually posted on the 9th floor of the Dulles State Office Building
just outside of the Regional Maintenance Office. Periodic winter road
conditions are provided by DOT dispatchers at the Jefferson County
Residency to local radio stations, school districts, and government
agencies in Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties. A subscription
satellite radar service is also used at the Regional Office and all
Residency locations. Road Weather Information Systems are also used
to provide real time pavement temperature and chemical application
information. Forecasts of pavement temperatures are then extrapolated
from historical data to aid Maintenance Managers in making decisions
for personnel deployment and anti-icing chemical application. Stop
by the Regional Office or any Residency for a demonstration of these
systems.
5. How much salt does the DOT use on the roads during the winter?
The effective use of salt has been proven without a doubt to provide
a standard of winter weather driving conditions far superior and
safer than other, more traditional treatments such as abrasives (sand)
or sand/salt mixes. The amount of salt that we use has pretty much
remained constant over the past several years. We strive to use the
absolute minimum amount of salt that has been shown to provide a
safe roadway for the traveling public, with a minimum impact on the
environment. Additional tools such as anti-icing, pre-wetting, and
liquid de-icers are also being incorporated into our snow and ice
program.
6. What is a Lane Mile? Most highway maintenance accomplishments are
measured in lane miles. A lane mile is simply one mile of one lane of a highway.
One mile of a two lane highway would therefore be two lane miles, and one mile
of a four lane highway would be four lane miles.
7. What Does a Resident Engineer Do? The Resident
Engineer is the front line
manager and first point of contact for the Department of Transportation
in his or her County. Some major tasks and functions that a Resident
Engineer performs:
Directs, plans, and executes the maintenance program
Manages the budgeting/expenditures process
Personnel Issues: Hiring, Training, Discipline
Advocate for the Department in each County
Liaison with other Agencies, Organizations, and the Public
8. How are Emergency Situations Handled? DOT
responds to several emergency events each year. These can range from
an accident on the highway to
a Statewide blizzard or other weather related emergency. The nature
of the event dictates the nature of the response. DOT employs the Incident
Command System (ICS) in it’s response to all emergencies. Small,
local emergencies (such as a traffic accident) are normally handled
within the Residency with the Resident Engineer assuming the Incident
Commander role. A somewhat larger event, such as a snow storm that
covers two or more counties would normally require the Regional Maintenance
Engineer (or other Regional Office staff) to become the Incident Commander
and coordinate the deployment of people and equipment among the affected
counties. A still larger Statewide of multi-Regional event usually
results in the activation of the State Emergency Management Office
and the assignment of a Statewide Incident Commander. Depending on
the location and nature of the event, Region 7’s role could vary
from support for other Regions/Agencies to full response of all of
our crews with additional support supplied by other Regions. Some examples
of recent events: September 11th, 2002 Plattsburgh Earthquake, 1998
Ice Storm, and the 2001 Buffalo Blizzard.
9. What Types of Environmental Issues/Outreach Does Transportation
Maintenance Get Involved With? Transportation Maintenance
is deeply involved in the Department’s Environmental Ethic/Initiative/Outreach
Program.
A few examples of on-going projects are:
Silt and erosion control on roadside ditching projects
Living snow fence plantings
Construction of fish ladders
Implementation of proper techniques for storage of hazardous materials/waste
Installation of oil/water separators and acquisition of State Pollutant
Discharge Elimination Permits (SPDES) at all maintenance facilities
Construction and Installation of bird boxes
Work with the Adirondack Park Agency on the disposal of waste materials from
roadside drainage and ditching projects
Construction of Observation Decks and Trails in conjunction with Bridge Maintenance
Activities
Minimize impacts of road salt application by employing anti-icing, pre-wetting,
and alternative de-icing techniques.
Development of a GIS maintenance project to improve environmental aspects of
projects involving wetlands, bridges, and culverts
10. What is the Department of Transportation’s Claims Procedure?
If an individual damages property owned by the Department of Transportation,
such as damaging a guiderail in an automobile accident, the Department will
repair the damage and send a bill for the costs of the repair to the vehicle
owner’s insurance company. If you believe that your property has been
damaged by one of the Department’s operations, such as a stone falling
from a DOT truck and damaging your windshield, you can submit a claim for damages,
up to $5,000. Please note that this process requires you to get estimates to
have the damage repaired and can only be honored in the event of “….
the tort of an officer or employee of the State while acting as such…..”.
This language generally means that it must be clearly demonstrated that the
State, although aware of a dangerous condition on the highway, did nothing
to remove the hazard, subsequently resulting in damages to a user of the highway.
11. What is a Highway Work Permit and When Do I Need One?
A Highway Work Permit is a revocable legal document issued by the Department
of Transportation for any work within the limits of the State highway,
which is a means of providing liability insurance coverage and Departmental
review to ensure compliance with applicable standards. A Highway
Work Permit is required any time it is desired to temporarily obstruct
or to install, construct, maintain or operate any facilities within
the bounds of the State highway right-of-way. This work includes
excavating, filling, trimming trees, erecting poles, stringing wires,
changing or installing driveways, curbs or any modifications of the
highway drainage system or shoulders, paving, or similar work under,
over, or along the highway.
Permits for residential driveways, residential tree work, maintenance
type work, and the Adopt-a-Highway program are reviewed and issued
at the maintenance residencies. Permits for commercial work are reviewed
by the residencies, then reviewed and issued by the Regional Permit
Office.
