QUALITY PROJECT DESIGN + DELIVERY
Engineering Department
The City of Madisonville Engineering Department mission is to serve the public by providing, implementing, and executing technical solutions to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens and visitors of Madisonville. The Engineering Department helps to foster quality project design and construction by providing professional engineering services and advice to the public, City administration, and to all City departments.
WHAT WE DO
Primary Responsibilities
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Oversees the development, design, construction, contract administration and inspections for public capital improvement projects including utilities, roads, drainage, and the City of Madisonville Municipal Airport projects
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Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Phase II Permit (MS4) compliance, program implementation, ordinance structuring, inspections, and mapping
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Administrative direction for managing the City’s roadway systems through paving assessments
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Services related to environmental regulations and activities
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Deed and property research
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Street signs and utility meter locating and mapping
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Reviews and approves all construction plans for residential and commercial site developments as it pertains to public improvements, such as new streets, sidewalks, and utilities to ensure conformance with City Ordinances and technical standards
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Manages permitting within the public right-of-way through encroachment permits by promoting standards for street and sidewalk repairs and construction
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Construction inspections of public improvements and all work within the public right-of-way
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Maintaining the city limit layers for the Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping for continuous improvements
construction standards
The City of Madisonville is committed to supplying the cleanest water and healthiest environment for those who live in and visit the city of Madisonville and the surrounding Hopkins County utility service area. Further, the City will aid the advancement of local economic development by providing these services at the most prudent cost.
The adoption of these documents, by the City of Madisonville, have established these specifications as the basic uniform standards for the planning, design, and construction of water and wastewater projects performed within the City of Madisonville's service areas.
The use of these standards should accomplish the following improvements:
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Allow common interpretation of provisions
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Simplify the development process for Developers, Engineers, Surveyors, and Contractors
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Provide a continuing amendment process for Developers, Engineers, Surveyors, and Contractors
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Reduce local government expenditures associated with staff or consultant development of specifications and training of construction inspectors/observers
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Result in decreased construction cost of water main and sanitary sewage facilities
Right-of-way encroachment
Right-of-Way Encroachment Permits for any work to be performed within the Public Right-of-Way which can include: sidewalks, driveway aprons, driveway culvert installations, and utility work are issued by the Engineering Department. A site inspection is required that will consider such issues at distance from street intersections, the driveway width requested, the size of the culvert pipe required, etc. The installation and maintenance of driveway culverts are the responsibility of the property owner.
If the intent is to enclose a section of the ditch that is not part of the driveway, but instead to provide a flat surface to the road edge for moving ease, again, a Right-of-Way Encroachment Permit is required from the Engineering Department. In addition to determining pipe size, the number and location of catch basins will also be specified. The installation and maintenance of enclosed stormwater drains in these cases is the responsibility of the property owner.
Stormwater
Stormwater is a concern to the City of Madisonville and has to be controlled from a quantity and quality standpoint. Stormwater runoff occurs when precipitation from rain or snowmelt does not soak into the ground and flows into surface waterways or storm sewers. Impervious surfaces like driveways, rooftops, sidewalks, parking lots, and streets prevent stormwater runoff from naturally soaking into the ground of which increases the volume of runoff. Consequently, stormwater runoff picks up debris, pet waste, chemicals, dirt, and other pollutants and flows into Madisonville's storm sewer system which discharges untreated into the waterbodies we use for swimming, fishing, and providing drinking water.
Stormwater contains pollutants that come from areas developed by people, and those pollutants affect our community’s water quality. The amount or volume of stormwater that runs off of urban and suburban areas is often greater than the amount of stormwater that runs off forests and farms. Buildings, rooftops, roads, and driveways are made of solid, impervious surfaces, so stormwater runs off these areas. In forests and on farms, trees, plants, crops, and natural soils allow stormwater to soak into the ground, so less stormwater runs off these areas. As the number of stormwater runoff increases, so does the amount of pollution it picks up.
Street Paving & Rehabilitation
The Madisonville Engineering Department oversees the paving and rehabilitation of City maintained streets. When reviewing a street to determine if it should be selected for rehabilitation, the entire right-of-way infrastructure is evaluated. The evaluation considers the conditions of the pavement, curbs and gutters, and sidewalks. The streets chosen each year for rehabilitation are not chosen solely based upon a low street ranking. Other factors taken into consideration include:
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Traffic Impact: if a street has a high traffic flow, it is considered to be a higher priority.
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Utility Work: If utility work is scheduled for a particular road, the street rehabilitation will be postponed until the utility projects are completed first.
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New Economic Development or Construction Projects: The timing of completion of the construction of new buildings affects the rehabilitation of streets. Repairing a street will be done after the construction work is completed.
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Budget: The available funds and the estimated rehabilitation costs determine the amount of work that can be done each year. The cost of materials also is a determining factor. As the cost of asphalt per ton goes up, the amount of paving work that can be done using a set budget amount is reduced. Madisonville receives an allocation of funds from the Municipal Aid Program (MAP). MAP funds are collected from the State gas tax and are allocated for maintenance, reconstruction or construction of City streets. Madisonville’s allocation of State gas tax funds averages between $250,000 and $400,000 a year.
