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Who Maintains My Road?
Over the years, it
has been a little confusing for the general public to clearly
identify which roads are maintained by the responsible
government agency. In other words, the question always
posed is, “Who takes care of my road”? Is it the county,
township, city, village, or state that clears the snow and ice,
mows the grass, paves the surface, spreads stone, grades the
road, installs signs, replaces culverts, digs ditches, etc.?
In an attempt to clarify this jurisdictional issue, it is
important to understand the different levels of government that
maintain highways within the county.
First of all, the Ohio Department of
Transportation (ODOT) maintains all 267 miles of state routes
outside of municipal corporations (i.e. cities and villages), as
well as Interstate 70. ODOT should be contacted with any
highway concerns on state routes or interstate highways.
Second, the 525 miles of county roads
are maintained by the Muskingum County Engineer’s Office (MCEO)
and Highway Department under the direction of the county
engineer. The MCEO can be contacted with any road
maintenance issues on county roads. Third, the 711 miles
of township roads are maintained and under the jurisdiction of
the board of trustees within each township. The county
currently has 25 townships that are governed by an elected
three-member board of trustees, which are responsible for the
roads within their township borders. Township trustees
should be contacted with any road related concerns on township
roads. Finally, any municipal roads within corporation
boundaries are maintained by the corresponding city or village.
Municipalities include the City of Zanesville or any of the
villages within the county, such as Frazeysburg, Dresden,
Adamsville, New Concord, Norwich, South Zanesville, Fultonham,
Roseville, and Philo. City or village officials are in
charge of maintaining the roads that exist within their
corporation boundaries and should be contacted with any
questions regarding these streets.
After gaining an
understanding of the various players in the road maintenance
game, the next important piece of information for citizens is
identifying whether the road in question is a county, township,
city, village, or state road. Our office is pleased to
assist with this task by fielding telephone calls and by
providing Muskingum County maps that display proper labeling of
the roads within the county.
Please contact our office if
you need help in determining who maintains your road. The
MCEO can be reached at (740) 454-0155.
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