One of the department's primary functions is to coordinate the engineering requirements for capital improvement projects of the town on town-owned property. As departments provide their services throughout the year, they may identify areas of concern where a project may be warranted. They work with our department to advance a particular project to the public bidding stage and then on to construction. Our department assists on the project along with liaisons to other government agencies that may also be involved with a project.

A project goes through numerous phases as it develops. Phases include properly identifying the concern, scoping out the actual work that is in the best interest of the town, identifying the magnitude of probable costs, conducting an environmental review, identifying funding sources, scheduling, establishing design and bidding requirements and finally construction, implementation and close-out. See pdf Project Stages (74 KB)  for a comprehensive list.

Engineering efforts may be assisted by outside engineering or architectural firms to develop plans and specifications, survey or provide services during construction. 

Sometimes, a project is not lead by a town department but may be performed by another agency such as the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of Transportation, National Grid or Erie County. Our department may represent the Town of Tonawanda on behalf of those agencies to assist with project administration and coordination.