When asked what he faces as the greatest challenge in taking on the job of Sandisfield’s new Department of Public Works, Superintendent Dave Waldron replies succinctly, “The roads.”

Then he explains. Sandisfield’s roads are mostly in good shape, even the gravel roads, which he has evaluated by driving over all of them himself. But, he adds, “The gravel roads in most of the towns in the Berkshires have been here for 200 years.” For most of that time, highway superintendents have been repairing – or trying to repair – what was done originally. “Most of the roads back then were just a little trail,” he said, cleared by farmers.

Over the years, the trails got bigger and longer. “Pretty much they’d cut the trees out, stump it, and then fill it back in with whatever they had. If it was muddy and soggy, they’d take the trees and lay them down, then drive over them, fill [the roadbed] up with dirt, and the rest is history. And this is what we’ve got now.”

Complicating his job of road maintenance is the ongoing change in the climate. Mud season, until recently the bane of anyone living on Sandisfield’s back roads, went from an early spring affliction to a twiceyearly event with an extra thaw late in December as our winters warmed.

The rainstorms, though, tend to be heavier, with more precipitation over a short period of time. “Eight to ten inches sometimes, and our infrastructure cannot support all that.”

Because of the age of the roads, the culverts that channel runoff under them are often metal pipes which may have rotted through or collapsed and need periodic replacement. That’s a simple job if the culverts are dry, but if there is a constant flow of water through them the town must get permits before undertaking replacement and, with running water, a 4-5 hour job can turn into days of work. Also, chances will be good that existing culverts aren’t large enough to accommodate the heavier bursts of rain and need to be upsized.

Waldron and his crew are determined to make the needed changes, but it will take time, as the DPW budget is limited in a town with a small population and much of the land state or nonprofit-owned and untaxed.

The DPW tries to secure grants to pay for roadwork, but that’s complicated by the fact that the state grant application season coincides with the time of year when town government personnel are putting together the annual budget. Waldron said he will explore hiring a grant writer, perhaps in partnership with two or three other towns.

Overall, the atmosphere at the town garage is “can- and will-do.” When asked if the department has priority projects, Waldron replied firmly “All the roads. They’re all a priority.”

Dave Waldron brings experience to the job. Raised in upstate New York, he enlisted in the U.S. Army two days after graduating high school, served on what was then the border of East and West Germany, and later a tour of duty in Iraq. After the military, he did, he estimates, nearly a million miles of truck driving. He’s worked for Berkshire-area public works departments, first in Hinsdale, where he was a driver/loader/operator (“You got to learn from the bottom, right?”), then a similar position in the town of Washington and later in Blandford, where he filled in when his boss retired. He served as Blandford’s highway superintendent four and a half years.

The work of a DPW superintendent is interesting, Waldron said – always more to learn and a thrill when a resident says thanks for a job well done and important to listen when someone has a complaint. “I love it. I just love hanging out with people and chit-chatting.” You have to wonder, though, when this busy man finds the time for that.