Public Works

The Department of Public Works has a diversity of responsibilities. These include paving, repair and maintenance of 200 plus miles of roads; storm sewer maintenance; installing and maintaining signs; debris removal and grass cutting on all rights of way; garbage collection; yard waste and leaf collection; snow removal; animal control and a garage for maintenance of town vehicle and equipment.

The Department of Public Works has the most visible impact on Clarksville residents and visitors and receives frequent praise for the good service provided.

Frequently Asked Questions

What services does public works provide/handle?
Sanitation collection for our residents. (No businesses or apartment complexes)
Tree Debris Collection (Chipper Truck) is provided yearly.
Leaf Collection – Mid-November to Mid-December on Schedule. Late October – January weather/need permitting.
Snow Routes – (More than 146 lane miles of our nearly 211 lane miles of streets)
Pothole Repairs
Pedestrian Signals
Street Sweeper
Sidewalk Maintenance
Pavement Markings
Pavement Maintenance, repairs, rehab
Street Signs
Animal Control – 1 active officer
Traffic Control Signals
Town Garage
Streetlights
Right of Way Maintenance

How can I find out information about trash pick-up such as: pick-up days, what items can be picked up, what is not acceptable?
We encourage residents to call or email us at 812-283-8233 or bcummings@townofclarksville.com to discuss our services. This provides us an opportunity to advise on what is and isn’t allowed in the trash.

Can I use my own trash can or do I need to purchase one from the Town of Clarksville?
Residents purchase their own containers. If they would like to participate in the curbside pickup of yard waste, they will have to provide a 94–96-gallon tote style container for this service.

The Town broke my trash can, how can I get it replaced? I’ve seen crews them throw them each week.
Warranty, maintain or replace trash containers do not fall on the Town of Clarksville. Tossing trash containers curbside is common in the US. Container manufactures engineer and design a product to handle empty loaded tossing. Most cases, shaking or “rim bouncing” containers on the hopper lip is to address how the trash was placed into the container. Loose trash, boxes, large items should be placed into a bag or broken down to avoid additional work for our crews. Crews collect approximately 20,000 lbs of trash a day per truck. Those providing these services would appreciate residents help to limit this extra work.

Who is responsible for controlling the timing of our local traffic lights?
Signal timing is a process to “optimize” the operation of signalized intersections. The objective is to respond to the demands of all types of motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians in an optimum or balanced manner. Signal timing is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve traffic flow and safety.

My sidewalk is badly damaged, how can I request at repair?
Contact us at 812-283-8233 and we will gladly inspect it for issues and determine if or when it may be replaced.

When are we going to fix the bad sidewalks?
We use the PASER Rating System for Concrete and have rated all sidewalks throughout the Town of Clarksville. We have a yearly budget set aside, and depending on returned bids, we exhaust that budget with replacement of sidewalks/ADA Ramps. We do not focus on non-structural repairs, like cracks, but focus on those that present an ADA issue.

Why does my street not receive snow services? I pay taxes too.
The Clarksville snow route is comprised of 141.26 lane miles. Those lane miles include nearly 59.12 lane miles of local roads (neighbor streets), 31.19 lane miles of major collectors (which most are also neighborhood streets), and 50.95 lane miles of arterial roads. Our goal is to minimize the distance that motorist travel on snow or iced cover streets before they reach a treated street. We have set an internal goal of 3 blocks. We have achieved this goal Town wide.