About us: 

          The Engineering Division of the Public Works Department prides itself on being versatile and resourceful with respect to all engineering related projects for the City.  On a daily basis, this Division’s staff is involved in a variety of tasks ranging from work on schools and their facilities, bridges, storm drainage, sanitary sewers, water mains and roadways.

          The Engineering Division has an operating budget of approximately $950,000 and consists of six licensed professional engineers, an associate engineer, two licensed surveyors, a traffic engineer, traffic technicians, a draftsman and administrative staff.  All take great satisfaction in the design and administration of worthwhile, solidly engineered, safe, and budget-conscious designs for construction, renovations and improvements related to City projects.

          The Engineering Division’s mission is to ensure the high accuracy and efficiency of all work that affects the City and the public and to see that proposed engineering projects are designed and inspected based on sound engineering standards and guidelines to prevent a negative impact on properties and the general public.  Division staff works closely with consultants, contractors, architects, engineers, and developers to secure project approvals in the shortest possible period of time.  The Division also provides regular technical reports and reviews to the City Council.

Our accomplishments: 

            This year the Division approved 202 sanitary sewer and water connection permits and performed field inspections to verify compliance with our engineering standards.

            The Division reviewed and solved many flooding and drainage problems which included site visits, analyses and in-house designs.

            The Division spends a considerable amount of time designing and administering sanitary sewer, water lines, storm drainage, roadway improvements and assessment projects.  The Division made significant progress this year in reducing the number of pending projects on the list of potential assessment projects and continues to work on the designs of the remaining projects.

            Several engineers are involved daily in reviewing various site plans, special exception and subdivision applications for land use approval.

            Division staff worked closely with the City’s architectural consultant to develop plans to secure partial State funding to replace the Stadley Rough School roof and to replace windows and doors at Danbury High School along with boiler replacement/addition to various schools as part of the $11,500,000 energy performance contract project.

            The Division is working closely with its engineering consultant on plans for the reconstruction of the Crosby Street Bridge.  The project will be put out to bid when all required approvals and permits have been acquired.  Also, in-house design of Long Ridge Bridge is underway.

            The Division is studying the flooding problem at the West Street railroad crossing underpass with the intent to develop a plan to alleviate the repeated flooding at this location.

            The Division worked with the Tarrywile Park Authority on the preparation of plans for the creation of a new parking lot near a trail head.  Funding for this work was from a State DEP recreation grant.

           The Division oversees the design and subsequent construction of sanitary sewers, water mains, subdivision roads, and storm drains to make certain that these installations meet current City and State standards before their acceptance by the City.

            The Division is working with the State (SFU) and CDBG representative to secure funds for the construction of a new building for the Head Start program.

           The Division designed sidewalk improvements for Lincoln Avenue and Library Place.  Those improvements were recently completed.  We are currently working on improvements to a section of Spring Street.

           The Division negotiated a contract for a “flyover” to be performed in the fall of 2011 to provide a current conditions aerial survey and updated and more precise topographical mapping of the entire City.  This new mapping will be a valuable tool to all City departments and agencies in their daily operations and for future planning purposes.

            Our survey team consists of two licensed State of Connecticut land surveyors that work on easements, verification of rights of way, monitor reservoir levels, prepare surveys for in-house design of City projects and maps entire City storm drainage systems using GPS equipment.

           The Division also designs, installs and routinely maintains traffic control signal devices and pavement markings.  It collects and analyzes traffic volume and accident information.  The traffic engineer reviews land use development plans and handles public complaints.  The traffic section of the Division is presently working with the State DOT on the development, design, and construction of a number of projects (for example: Route 7 South, Route 6 corridor improvements, Triangle Street and South Street intersection improvements, and I-84 improvements from the New York state line to Old Ridgebury Road) that are intended to address traffic conditions in the area.  Traffic personnel were actively involved in the design and implementation of the communication network for the design of a traffic signal coordination project for the Backus Avenue corridor.  The traffic section is also designing improvements to the intersection of Lake Avenue at Shannon Ridge Road and Ridge Road as well as Osborne Street at Fifth Avenue.  These intersection improvements are partially funded by the Connecticut DOT Local Road Reduction Grant Program.

            The Division’s friendly and responsive staff  is committed to providing outstanding customer service on a daily basis and assisting residents in their search for maps and information relative to new projects, sanitary sewer and water lines in their neighborhoods.