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WASHINGTON COUNTY, MARYLAND

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

PUBLIC WORKS

ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS


DIVISION OF PUBLIC WORKS

The Division of Public Works oversees six departments: Capital Projects; Communications Maintenance; Highway; Land Development Engineering; Parks, Recreation and Facilities; and Transit (County Code, sec. 1-601).

ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION DEPARTMENT
Formerly the Capital Projects Department, the Engineering and Construction Department is responsible for the construction, maintenance, and control of County public works, buildings, publicly owned water and sewerage facilities, and capital projects.

COMMUNICATIONS MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
The Communications Maintenance Department designs, procures, installs, and maintains all County wireless communications systems (except cellular). This includes equipment owned by the County, the County's municipalities, the Board of Education, and some State-owned equipment.

HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
The Highway Department is responsible for County roads, highways, bridges and streets, lanes, alleys, footways, and culverts. Along County roads, the Department performs snow and ice removal operations; installs and repairs traffic control signs, street name signs and signals; picks up litter and debris; and cuts the grass. In addition, the Department provides lighting for roads, highways, alleys, and other public places; cleans and repairs County-owned ditches and storm drains; and trims all trees and removes dead trees on County-owned property.

LAND DEVELOPMENT ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
The Land Development Engineering Department reviews and approves the designs and performs limited construction inspections of private developments. This is done by review of subdivision plats and site plans submitted to the County through the Department of Planning and Community Development. Within the County right-of-way typically associated with those developments, the Department inspects driveways and utilities. The Department also oversees storm drainage, erosion, and sediment control facilities and projects, and the County Stormwater Management Program. It reviews, approves, and inspects all stormwater management ponds constructed (County Code, sec. 1-701).

PARKS, RECREATION & FACILITIES DEPARTMENT
Within the Division of Public Works is the Parks, Recreation and Facilities Department. The Department maintains buildings, grounds, and parks owned by the County; handles reservations for park pavilions; operates the Martin L. Snook swimming pool in Hagerstown; and provides maintenance for county agencies (Code 1957, Art. 25, secs. 222-230).

TRANSIT DEPARTMENT
Under the Division of Public Works, the Transit Department operates all public transportation in Washington County (County Code, sec. 1-603). The County Commuter public transit system is a bus line. It runs eight, fixed urban bus routes that originate in Hagerstown and serve Funkstown, Halfway, Long Meadow, Maugansville, Robinwood, Smithsburg, and Williamsport.

For the elderly and persons with disabilities, County Commuter buses provide transportation through a contracted Ride-Assist Voucher Program, funded by the Statewide Special Transportation Assistance Program. For individuals with disabilities who can not access fixed-route service, the Department provides ADA Complementary Paratransit Service, along with Job Access in cooperation with the County Department of Social Services.

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