Department of Public Works
Highway Division

** Services: **

Road Maintenance:

The Pepperell Highway Division services approximately 82 miles of roads in Pepperell, excluding Route 119 (South St.) which is under the supervision of MassHighway. Road maintenance services include paving and resurfacing, road improvements, and winter operations snow removal.

As a part of road maintenance, the Highway Division also monitors and cleans drainage structures and catch basin to both protect roadways from water damage and to ensure proper filtration of roadway run-off as it re-enters the waterways and aquifers of Pepperell.

Please take a moment to report a pothole First and Last Name: Street Address: Phone Number: - - (in case we have a question) Email Address: What street has the pothole? Where on the street (house number, which side of the street)?

Winter Operations (Snow Removal):

While snow removal strategies can vary depending on the forecast, the Highway Division generally begins by treating roads with de-icing chemicals in order to prevent snow and ice from bonding to the surface. Please be patient: our crews travel on snow covered, slippery untreated roads at any hour of the day or night and will be out as soon as possible to begin snow removal operations.

During a storm plowing operations typically begin when after there has been an accumulation of 2 - 4 inches of snow on road surfaces. Due to budget constraints and cut-backs, the Highway Division is able to employ 11 vehicles during a storm to plow Pepperell's 82 miles of roads. (Please note that Route 119/South St. is maintained by MassHighway. For concerns about snow removal on Rte. 119, please call 978-597-1712 or 800-227-0608.) Each vehicle is assigned to a pre-determined route and will remain active until the snowfall ends, unless called to an emergency. Naturally, the Highway Division's main objective is to keep all roads passable during the storm. Unfortunately, this inevitably means that plows with push snow into many driveways. When shoveling your driveway, depositing excess snow on the down street side of your driveway will minimize the redeposit of snow into the cleared opening when the plow makes its next pass.

Please do not shovel, plow, or blow snow or ice into the roadway, as per the Snow Removal By-law. It is both illegal and can be a serious traffic hazard. And please note that homeowners are responsible for the actions of private contractors.

The Highway Division performs winter maintenance on sidewalks after the completion of a storm. Residents are encouraged to clear sidewalks in front of their property.

Following a storm, the Highway Division gives roads another treatment of deicing and continues with any necessary scraping and treating of roads depending on conditions and weather forecasts. Colder weather requires scraping of snow and slush to prevent icing and to ensure that drainage structures are exposed. As time allows, snow is further removed from intersections where sight distance is a concern.

* Please Shovel Around Neighborhood Fire Hydrants:

Please help the Fire Department by shoveling around neighborhood Fire Hydrants immediately after snow storms. Without fast, unhindered access to the hydrants and water the Fire Department would lose valuable seconds, even minutes fighting fires. That could mean the difference between quickly controlling a fire and losing everything. Questions regarding snow removal near hydrants should be directed to the Pepperell Water Division.

Please consider adopting a fire hydrant or catch basin near you and clear it of debris regularly after storm event. That will help the Highway Division clear roads as efficiently as possible.

* Salt and Sand:

A mixture of sand and salt is available to residents (no contractors please) at the Highway Division Garage on Lowell Rd. and at the Transfer Station for Transfer Station customers who have car stickers.

Spring Repairs and Re-seeding:

Winter plowing and maintenance may sometimes damage the grass strips along the roads. The Highway Division will repair these areas as soon as possible, although it may take until mid summer to repair these areas. This generally consists of raking out ruts and re-seeding with a standard highway grass seed mix. If your landscaping needs are such that this is unacceptable, you may choose to repair these areas on your own earlier in the spring.

Tree Cutting:

The Highway Division maintains trees within the Town's right-of-way on all public streets (except Rte. 119, which is overseen by MassHighway: contact 978-597-1712) and performs periodic moving and trimming, as well as removal of unsafe trees. Please note that the electric utility and cable company also perform their own independent tree trimming and removal as ongoing maintenance for their respective pole and wire infrastructure. For trees in danger of falling onto utility wires, please contact National Grid at: 1-800-322-3223.

If you feel there is an unsafe tree near the roadway of your property, please contact the Highway Division at 978-433-5735.

Equipment Maintenance:

In order to maintain the lowest costs possible, the Highway Division maintains its own vehicles and other equipment, as well as equipment for the Transfer Station, the Water Division, and Sewer Division.

** Regulations that may affect you and your property: **

Town Roadway Right-of-Ways and Your Property

One of the more frequent issues that impacts resident's dealings with the Department of Public Works is making improvements within the Town's right-of-way for the abutting street. Unless residents live in a relatively new house or have gone through the expense of a survey of their property, they are generally unaware of where their front property line is located - this front property line is also the limit of the right-of-way for the street. Town rights-of-way cannot be improved by abutting residents!

What are "improvements"? Generally they involve fences or walls that are installed beyond the property line, trees or shrubs that are planted beyond the property line, or landscaping features (like sprinkler systems or railroad timbers) installed beyond the property line. By law, the only items allowed within the right-of-way are the traveled way itself (including sidewalks) and utilities as authorized by the Town (all utility poles within the right-of-way are located there with the permission of the Town and if they are to be relocated, removed, or new ones installed, the utility companies must petition the Board of Selectmen). Mailboxes, if installed in accordance with the Mailbox Policy established by the Highway Division and the Postal Service, may also exist in the right-of-way.

The widths of the Town's rights-of-way are extremely variable but in no cases does the roadway edge of pavement coincide with the limits of the right-of-way. Older Town roads frequently have a right-of-way width of "2 rods", an old unit of measurement that equals 16½' per rod, or a total width of 33'. Newer streets are often 40' or 50' wide, and some State or County layouts for Town roads are even wider. With the average width of paving of 18' to 22' on less traveled roads, and 22' to 25' on busier streets, there is generally 5' to 13' on each side of the paved surface that is part of the right-of-way, not part of the abutting property. Sidewalks and grass strips lie within these limits as well. Residents cannot make improvements the right-of-way as noted above ! The Highway Division does not object to residents maintaining the right-of-way adjacent to their property as long as the maintenance consists of mowing grass and weeds for a well-kept appearance.

The Highway Division is responsible for maintaining the right-of-way so as to provide a safe traveled way. Beyond the roadway and sidewalk themselves, the Highway Division must do weed control and mowing as well as tree trimming (and cutting as necessary) primarily to provide adequate sight distance as well as to prevent obstructions near the traveled way itself and will do this work within the rights-of-way without notification to abutters. Any damage done to private improvements in the right-of-way is not the liability of the Highway Division. The DPW may also contact you if we notice any improvements being done in the right-of-way, a "courtesy call" advising you to stop installing any improvements. If you have any doubts in this regard, please contact the Town Engineer or the Highway Division to have it checked out. Although the Town will not do a survey of your property, we can let you know if the right-of-way is being impacted.

Snow Removal By-law:

No person, other than an employee of the Town of Pepperell acting in an official capacity, shall direct, discharge, dump, plow, blow, shovel, or deposit snow, ice, or water subject to freezing onto, into, or across any public way (including sidewalks), or cause, direct, sanction, or authorize any such activity involving snow, ice, or water on a public way (including sidewalks). Violation of this By-law shall be punished by a fine of $25 for the first offense, and $50 for each subsequent offense. Enforcement authority for the By-law shall rest with the Highway Superintendent and the Pepperell Police Department.

Winter Parking Ban:

The Pepperell Police would like to remind residents that the winter parking ban is in effect between November 1 and April 1. No vehicles are allowed to remain on the street overnight during this timeframe. This is to allow for unimpeded snow removal and sanding by the Highway Department. Violators will be subject to parking fines and/or towing if required. Your cooperation will be appreciated in order to provide efficient winter maintenance of the roads.

Mailbox and Newspaper Delivery Box Installation Policy:

No mailbox or newspaper delivery box (hereafter jointly referred to as "mailbox") will be allowed to exist on the Town's right-of-way if it interferes with the safety of the traveling public or the function, maintenance, or operation of the highway system. A mailbox installation that does not conform to the provisions of this regulation is an unauthorized encroachment on a way as referenced in MGL CHAPTER 86, SECTION 3.

The location and construction of mailboxes shall conform to standards established by the Town of Pepperell or as to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Postal Service as applicable. The Town standards for the location and construction of mailboxes are available from:

Highway Division, 45 Lowell Road
Town Engineer's Office, Town Hall

A mailbox installation that conforms to the following criteria will be considered acceptable unless in the judgment of the Highway Superintendent, the installation interferes with the safety of the traveling public or the function, maintenance, or operation of the highway system.

Location:

Mailboxes shall be located on the right-hand-side of the roadway, looking in the direction of the delivery route (contact the Postal Service with questions on the direction of delivery). The bottom of the box shall be set at an elevation established by the U.S. Postal Service. The roadside face of the box shall be offset from the edge of the traveled way a distance of 3 feet unless curbing exists, in which case the box will be 1' from the face of curb and installed so that the box in parallel to the street and opens to face the delivery direction.

Where a mailbox is located at an intersecting road it shall be located a minimum of 100' beyond the centerline of the intersecting road looking in the direction of the delivery route.

Where a mailbox is located at a driveway entrance, it shall be place on the far side of the driveway looking in the direction of the delivery route.

Where a mailbox is installed in the vicinity of an existing guardrail, it should, wherever practical, be placed behind the guardrail.

Structure:

Mailboxes shall be of light sheet metal construction. Plastic mailboxes do not hold up to winter conditions and will not be replaced unless directly hit by a snow plow.

Stubs of utility poles are not acceptable as mailbox supports. A timber support post is required, with a maximum size of 4"x4". No granite posts will be allowed.

Shoulder and Parking Area Construction:

It will be the responsibility of the postal patron to inform the U.S. Postal Service of any new or existing mailbox installation where shoulder construction is inadequate to permit all-weather vehicular access to mailbox.

Sidewalks:

No mailbox is to be located on a sidewalk. Where questions arise regarding the location and support of mailboxes in locations with sidewalks, the Highway Superintendent shall make the final decision. Under no circumstances will any work be done on the sidewalk itself except by the Highway Division.

No new mailboxes will be placed on a sidewalk in a pail, cement block, tire, or any similar type of holder.

Removal of Nonconforming or Unsafe Mailboxes:

Any mailbox that is found to violate the intent of this regulation shall be removed by the postal patron upon notification by the Highway Department. At the discretion of the Highway Department, based on an assessment of the hazard to the public, the patron will be granted not less than 24 hours nor more than 30 days to remove an unacceptable mailbox.

Mailbox Replacement if Damaged by Snow Removal:

The Town will not replace a mailbox unless it is hit directly by a snowplow; the Town will replace a mailbox if the Town's plow came in direct contact with a well-maintained mailbox or post. The Town will not replace a mailbox or post that are in poor condition.

Only mailboxes constructed in conformity with this policy and U.S. Postal Service regulations will be put on list for repair.

Mailboxes to be fixed will be put on a list and repaired when the Highway Department is back on a regular schedule and all weather-related priorities have been completed.

A $10.00 maximum expense will be the limit for any replacement.

The Department will not fix mailboxes that have been installed too close the street or are in violation of any other section of these regulations. Any mailbox that is plastic, wood, cement, brick or any other type, or anchored in a bucket, attached to a tree or a metal pipe, or hung from chain will not be fixed or replaced by the Department.

This policy was established in February 2003 as a combined effort of the Pepperell Highway Superintendent and the Postmaster of the Pepperell Post Office. January 2010 revisions did not change any requirements originally established by the Post Office.

Basketball Nets, Hoops, Backboards:

Basketball nets, hoops, and backboard structures are not permitted in the Town's roadway right-of-way and may be inadvertently damaged by Highway Division maintenance, street cleaning, and snow removal vehicles.