Summit County Engineer's Office

There are four distinct highway systems in Ohio: The Ohio Department of Transportation is responsible for the 19,000 mile State Highway System; The County is responsible for the streets (approximately 21,000 miles) and alleys within their boundaries.

The County Engineer works with the County Commissioners¹ and the Township Trustees to perform his various responsibilities in the following areas:

• County Highways: All maintenance, repair, widening, resurfacing, reconstruction, and construction of pavements and bridges on the county highway system is the County Engineer's responsibility. This includes traffic control, safety, mowing, and snow removal.
• Township Highways: The County Engineer is the engineering advisor to the Township Trustees for the maintenance, repair, widening, resurfacing, and reconstruction of their highways. The bridges on the Township Highway system are the full responsibility of the county.
• Municipalities: The county is responsible for many bridges within municipalities, including some on the State Highway System.

The responsibility of the County Engineer for bridges as mentioned above includes the annual inspection and evaluation for the condition and load-carrying capacity of each bridge. The statutes require a uniform method of procedure and record keeping.

The County Engineer serves on the County and Regional Planning Commissions and is the engineer for each Board of Township Trustees in his county. He is the Tax Map Draftsman² for the County.

In the unincorporated areas the citizen of Ohio might find his County Engineer involved with the County airports, sidewalks, weed control along roads and ditches, and the establishment and maintenance of assessed ditches.

In many counties, the engineer has been appointed to serve as County Sanitary Engineer. He works with the County Commissioners¹ to supervise the construction of sewer and water lines in the unincorporated areas. The approval, regulation and operation of sanitary land fills and incinerators may also be his department's responsibility.