Permits

Road Work Disruption Form

In addition to getting a permit, if you will be conducting work that will disrupt a Chemung County Road. It is required to complete a Chemung County Road Work Disruption Application.

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Insurance Requirements

The applicant agrees in the acceptance of this permit to assume all responsibility and liability for damages to persons and/or property that may accrue during such work in the County R-O-W through the negligence of himself, his agents or employees, or from any other cause, and to have the County of Chemung harmless therefrom. For contractors, an insurance policy naming Chemung County and its employees as additional insured must be provided in the amount of $1,000,000 per incident, $2,000,000 aggregate. Chemung County is located at:
203 Lake Street
P.O. Box 588
Elmira, NY 14902

Chemung County Highway Permit

The Chemung County Highway Permit (PDF) is designed to obtain permission from the Department of Public Works (DPW) for any work in the County Right-of-Way. This includes, but is not limited to, sewers, public and private utilities, pipes, driveway entrances, trailblazing or other private signs, and culverts. In the event of privately owned infrastructure, the permittee may also be required to obtain an easement or license agreement from Chemung County (prior to beginning work.) Any privately owned signs in County R-O-W must meet the standards outlined in the Federal Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), and any current New York State MUTCD supplement; each sign requires an approved permit prior to installation.

Permit Cost

None

Note: Standard County DPW Policy does not allow open-cutting of County Roads.

Chemung County Special Hauling Permit

Note: The County Executive has formed an advisory commission to look at permitting and hauling issues on all County and Local roads throughout Chemung County. The permit format is likely to change over the coming months.

The Chemung County Special Hauling Permit is designed to obtain permission from the Department of Public Works for any oversize hauling on Chemung County Roads, including travel over bridges on Town roads. A bond may also be required to protect against damages to County R-O-W.

Permit Cost

Permit cost varies and will be determined before final approval and issuance of a permit.

Other Requirements

County DPW Policy requires NYSDOT Hauling Permits to be in place before applying for a County Special Hauling Permit.

Documents

Chemung County DPW Temporary Highway Use Permit (Special Events)

The Chemung County DPW Temporary Highway Use Permit provides for the use of County Routes and R-O-W for special events such as walk-a-thons and races. A Comprehensive General Liability policy naming the County of Chemung (203 Lake Street, P.O. Box 588 Elmira, NY 14902) as an "Additional Insured" is required. This policy and permit are to be approved by the County Attorney. The organization receiving this permit agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless from any and all claims, causes of action, or liability whatsoever arising from the use of the County's premise or activities allowed under this permit. While most permits will not require a fee, the DPW reserves the right to assess a charge based on required services for the event. Additionally, any events requiring Sheriff's Department oversight may be charged a fee.

Permit applications must be submitted to the DPW a minimum of four weeks before the event. In addition to the event insurance, all event participants are required to sign a participant release. Please see the sample release as follows:

Chemung County DPW Discretionary Sign Policy

The purpose of the Chemung County DPW Discretionary Sign Policy (PDF) is to establish guidelines, permitting processes, and procedures that address the installation and maintenance of Non-Standard, Supplemental/Discretionary signs within the right-of-way on Chemung County owned highways, as well as define who will pay for the signs, posts, installation and maintenance of each sign. Chemung County intends to provide reasonably safe roads for reasonably safe drivers and keep the road right-of-way as clear as possible and free of obstructions. This includes eliminating unnecessary signs which provide no useful information to road users and will not assist them in safely navigating the roadway and reaching their destinations.

Traffic control signs are installed along roadway right-of-ways to provide competent drivers and roadway users with positive guidance and appropriate information about existing laws and regulations, physical characteristics of the roadway and potential hazards to avoid errors and safely reach their destinations. County road right-of-ways are not intended to be an advertising medium. The placement of Non-Standard, Supplemental/Discretionary signs is discouraged because they are generally ineffective at providing road users with information necessary to reach their destinations safely.

Non-Standard, Supplemental/Discretionary signs are generally ineffective in reducing vehicle speeds and may result in drivers paying less attention to other critical regulatory or warning signs if there are too many irrelevant signs along a given roadway. Using Non-Standard, Supplemental/Discretionary signs to alert drivers to intermittent, sporadic events and/or general possibilities, encounters or situations ("Deer Crossing", "Children at Play", "Hidden Driveway") do not provide a consistent impact on driver behavior. These signs' overuse or misuse (such as installation at incorrect locations) also reduces their effectiveness.

The approved policy more thoroughly defines the rationale; the permit process requires a one-time $50 permit fee per sign. This fee is intended to cover the cost of reviewing the permit and subsequent inspections of the sign installation.

Completed permits should be emailed to the Department of Public Works.