Highway

If you have any questions or concerns please call our office between the hours of 7:00am and 3:30pm Monday-Friday, or leave a message after hours. Any emergencies after hours should be directed to the Greene County 911 center at 518-622-3548.

Highway Superintendent

John J. Farrell
Phone: 518-945-1299
Fax: 518-945-2176

Winter Hours: Monday - Friday 7:00am - 3:30pm
Summer Hours: Monday - Thursday 6:00am - 4:30pm

Mailing Address:
2 First Street
Athens, NY 12015

Physical Address:
79 Old Kings Road
Athens, NY 12015

Putting in a New Driveway?

It is important that you call John J. Farrell, the Highway Superintendent, before you put your driveway in. It needs to be inspected to determine if you require a culvert pipe. The Highway Department will install your culvert pipe, but the property owner is responsible for the purchase of the culvert pipe.

Signage:

The town maintains regulatory signs such as: yield, stop, speed, directional, and school crossing, etc. Our goal is to maintain them in readable condition. If you notice a town sign that has lost its reflectivity or is difficult to read, please tell the department. Your help is appreciated.

Tree and Brush Cutting:

Our goal is to maintain good visibility for the traveling public. Trees or brush within the Town's right of way that limit visibility will be removed. These trees present a hazard to vehicles especially snow plows and school buses. Outside mirrors on these vehicles extend beyond the outside of the vehicle. Please give us a call if you notice a hazard.

Drainage:

Proper drainage is a major factor in maintaining good pavement life. No other single factor affects pavement performance more. The Highway Department takes steps to correct drainage deficiencies prior to paving roads. Some drainage culverts end up buried over the course of time. If you're aware of such a culvert, please contact the department before your road gets paved. Together we can make the effort successful.

Snow Removal:

Winter presents the Highway Department one of its greatest challenges. Conditions from snow to sleet to ice to freezing rain and to rain create difficult driving conditions. The Highway Department takes great pride in meeting those challenges head on. The department goal is to provide "pavement-edge to pavement-edge" snow removal and it asks residents to avoid parking on street during snow events. The Town's road system is broken into 4 snow routes, each assigned to a separate crew. Each of those routes takes about three to three-and-a-half hours to complete.

The following information will help residents to understand the snow removal policy and what is expected from them:

• Ensure your mailbox is installed properly. Mailboxes installed too low or too close to pavement edge are susceptible to being struck by plow wings. Please believe plowmen hate hitting mailboxes. They are responsible to reinstall them if they're at fault. However, plowmen will not reinstall mailboxes struck due to improper installation. Please contact your local post office for the correct measurements if you are unsure.
• Do not throw snow from walkways or driveways onto the road. Most people don't know this, but it's actually against the law. New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law section 1219 (a) states: No person shall throw or deposit upon any highway any glass bottle, glass, nails, tacks, wire, cans, snow or any other substance likely to injure any person, animal, or vehicle upon such highway. Besides, plowmen are very likely to plow it right back into your driveway.
• Please clear all your vehicle windows before travel. See and be seen. Slow down a little when in the area of snow removal operations. Like you, plowmen have blind spots when they drive. See and be seen. Working together we can make this and every snow removal season a great success.

List of Owned and Maintained Town of Athens Roads

*If your road is not listed here, it is not owned and maintained by the Town of Athens Highway Department