Highway Levels of Service

Highway Maintenance

Walworth County Public Works Highway Division employs a collection of skilled and devoted employees that provide a number of services for County residents. Services are set and scheduled by task, staffing availability and frequency needs. Our goal is to deliver these services in a timely, efficient manner in a professional and safe fashion.

Street Sweeping

Each Spring, Highway dispatches a street sweeper to clear debris from over 162 County and State bridges that are maintained by Walworth County Public Works.  This process can take a few months with completion typically in early summer.

Roadside Mowing

Tractors outfitted with 10 or 15 foot mower decks are dispatched once per year (as mandated by WisDOT) to mow roadside ditches of approximately 700 lane miles of State roadways, and twice per year on our 400 lane miles of County roads. This is usually completed by July 1st each year.

Tree Trimming / Brushing

Tree trimming and brush removal are primarily completed during the winter months for a number of reasons.  One reason, it is healthier for trees being pruned during their dormant season; second, roadway maintenance is our primary concern during non-winter months; and frozen ground allows our heavier equipment to access trees off the roadway.

Snow Removal

Providing timely and effective winter maintenance services, in a safe manner, to all our County and State roadways is of utmost importance to the County.  Walworth County Public Works is responsible for snow clearing of approximately 1100 lane miles county-wide to achieve 'passable roadways' within the limitations imposed by weather conditions, available resources, and environmental concerns during a winter weather event.

The level of snow removal service depends on the type of roadway being serviced.  WisDOT divides these roadways into five (5) categories which determine the priority level of service, and hours of operation. Walworth County maintains categories three (3) to five (5) as outlined below:

CATEGORY 3: ALL OTHER 4-LANE HIGHWAYS - (AADT <25,000) - I43 and US12 (Elkhorn to Genoa City). Highways in this category typically do not have the traffic congestion and snow storage problems of those in categories 1 and 2. They still have high traffic volumes that make it necessary to focus on more than just the driving lanes during the winter weather event. All lanes and ramps will be maintained with emphasis on plowing and sensible salting. Driving lanes and ramps will receive preferential treatment while passing lanes will receive less attention with less salting.

CATEGORY 4:  MOST HIGH-VOLUME 2-LANE HIGHWAYS - (AADT>5,000) - US12 (Elkhorn to Tri-County Road and most other state Trunk Highways). Driving lanes will be maintained with emphasis on plowing and sensible salting. When conditions warrant, coverage should generally be provided up to 18 hours per day during the storm. **

CATEGORY 5: ALL OTHER TWO-LANE HIGHWAYS - (AADT<5,000) - US67 (Sharon to Rock County Line, County Trunk Highways). Driving lanes will be maintained primarily by plowing with sensible salting.  When conditions warrant, coverage should generally be provided up to 18 hours per day during the storm. **

**The gap in coverage is necessary to provide for operator recovery time and shall generally occur between the hours of 9:00 PM and 4:00 AM but will vary with specific storm conditions.

Refer to our Strategic Plan 2020 - 2025 (PDF) for a more detailed description of our Levels of Service.