Project Overview
Many of our Tug Hill Towns are unsure of where their roads are. Abandonments have occurred over the years which have not been recorded, or the records have become lost. The NYSDOT inventories are difficult to keep up‐to‐date over the years, and errors have sometimes compounded through various administrations. The NYSDOT inventory, being in a list format rather than a map format, is not conducive to easily catching errors and omissions. The county highway maps are not at a scale which makes it possible to include small road segments or accurately map the lengths of road segments.
This project encourages towns to accurately map their roads in a georeferenced (computerized GIS) format over aerial photography, and formally adopt a road map so that, at least at this point in time, they have an accurate baseline assessment of their road systems, obligations and liabilities.
Process
- The Tug Hill Commission (THC) staff will work with the NYSDOT inventory, county highway map, and any other relevant sources to make an initial sketch of the road system.
- THC staff will sit down with the town superintendent and go over the sketch in detail and make corrections.
- THC staff along with the highway superintendent will do a field check with GPS equipment to verify specific points which need accurate location, such as road dead ends or changes between various road categories. The staff can also pick up any other geographic points that the superintendent needs.
- THC staff will prepare a formal draft georeferenced road map for the superintendent’s review and correction.
- The superintendent will transmit the final draft map to the town board along with a letter of transmittal certifying that the map reflects his current assessment of the road system.
- The town board will adopt the resolution of approval of the superintendent’s assessment, as well as adopt the map as the town’s official road map.