Engineering Division

Responsibilities 

The engineering aspects of the Public Works Department are diverse in nature, involving the design of public projects and review of private projects, as well as providing technical support to other departments. Projects involving marine structures, river dredging, road construction, stormwater management facilities, stream restoration, and drainage systems, which benefit the general public, are administered by Public Works.

Improvement construction plans for both individual sites and major subdivisions, which in addition to benefiting individual developers, assures quality construction, meeting the county standards, are also administered by the department. The state delegated program involving stormwater is managed while others require preparation and updating of various county plans,  such as Water and Sewer Plan, Solid Waste Plan, and Recycling Plan.

The Engineering Division is responsible for the engineering oversight of various public works projects involving the transportation network, waste disposal network and environmental protection. The normal workforce is approximately six (6) employees, but has been scaled back to three (3) due to severe budget cuts. As a result we have been forced to contract out additional engineering and surveying services. The Engineering Office is located in downtown Salisbury.

Purpose:

The Engineering Division is determined to provide safe and efficient public works projects that promote economic development while protecting Wicomico County's beautiful and unique environment.

Functions:

The functions of the Engineering Division are numerous and vary greatly. Several are performed in-house, some were partially contracted out and others fully contracted out; mainly due to budget constraints. Several are required by federal, state or local regulations. Nearly all are associated with safety and well-being of the public. These functions are as follows:

In-house:

Emergency Response
Pedestrian Connectivity
Storm Drain Design
Dredging Program
Water & Sewer Planning
Urban Service Districts
Road Closures
Permitting
Inspection
Project Management
Forest Stand Delineation & Mitigation
Wetland Delineation & Mitigation
Shoreline Abatement
Construction Standards, Guidelines and Checklists
Administration

Partially Contracted: 

Surveying
Right-of-way Acquisition
Developmental Reviews
Road Design
Stormwater Management Program
Environmental Assessments
Watershed implementation Planning
Stormwater Pollution Prevention Planning
Facility Maintenance

Fully Contracted:

Bridge Program
Dam Program 
Structural Design
Marine Design
Landfill Design
Signalization Design
Traffic Studies
Geotechnical Design