Annual Report 2007-2008(color).pub - Town of South Windsor

Department of Public Works
our winter snow and ice management practices.
Oak Street, a three-quarter mile road was
rehabilitated prior to July 1 st and Cambridge
Drive along with Wedgewood Lane were also
resurfaced as an early spring/summer project.
Traditionally, we were doing all of our planned
roadwork maintenance after July 1 st due to the
spring workload. Now, having the time,
manpower, and current contracts in place we
were able to have an early season road
maintenance program. Many other Towns are
not doing their roadwork in the spring and early
summer. Most towns perform the majority of
their roadwork after their new fiscal budgets go
into effect on July 1 st . Demand for roadwork by
the vendor supplied construction contract
services through the State of Connecticut
becomes very difficult to schedule and complete
in a timely fashion, while the majority of the work
throughout the State is being done at the same
time.
The Division installed a new drainage system for
the Nevers Road soccer field parking lot and
reconstructed that lot. We also led the effort to
the expansion and reconstruction of the Rotary
Pavilion parking lot along with the patching and
resurfacing of the access roads and smaller lots
in the park. The parking lot on Chief Ryan’s
Way was also resurfaced and line painted.
These much needed projects will benefit
residents for many years to come. We
accomplished several drainage projects; to
include just some of them – Newberry Road had
new pipe, catch basins installed and curbing;
Abbe Road had new pipe, a new catch basin
and several hundred feet of curb installed; Rye
Street had over 1000’ of new curbing installed
and the drainage was improved to eliminate a
serious shoulder erosion problem. New basins
were added along with several hundred feet of
curbing and the road crown was restored to
eliminate a severe winter icing problem on
Barber Hill Road.
Various streets throughout the Town were crack
sealed for the second year of a three year
contract. We accomplished 26.17 road miles of
pavement maintenance. Crack sealing
maintenance extends the longevity of the
pavement surface life and is recommended as
the first line of defense against pavement
deterioration. Crack sealing is a very cost
effective maintenance tool. Compare the cost of
the annual resurfacing program which accounts
for only 5% of the total road mileage maintained
and uses 80% of the available budget, versus
crack sealing which accounts for 17 % of the
total road mileage and only 19% of the budget.
Street Services cut and patched several poor
pavement areas throughout the Town and will
continue its efforts repairing as many distressed
pavement areas as time allows. This year we
cut and patched over 10,600 square feet of
road, not including the street cut permit program.
The 2007/2008 ice and snow season was
managed for a second year using treated salt
applications versus sand and salt mixture for
snow and ice control. This allowed us to
complete our Street Sweeping Program in 10
days. Although we are not using sand in the
treatment of our roads, we still need to sweep
annually. Natural occurring sediment, leaf
debris, litter, silt and sand still accumulate in the
shoulder of the road.
Mark D. Owens
Street Services Manager
The FLEET SERVICES DIVISION of
Public Works is housed with the Street Services
and the Parks and Grounds Division at the
Thomas L. Burgess Town Garage facility at 157
Burgess Road. The Division has the
responsibility of maintaining and repairing all
Town-owned vehicles and equipment including
some Fire Department vehicles. The staff for
the Division includes, two full-time Mechanics, a
full-time Assistant Mechanic and the Fleet
Services Manager. Additional part-time
mechanical assistance is provided by a Howell
Cheney Auto Shop student through a Co-Op
education agreement with Howell Cheney
Technical High School. Additional staff support
is provided by an Associate Manager who is
also shared with the over divisions. Preventive
maintenance and repairs are done in-house
14 | Town of South Windsor: Annual Report 2007/2008