What is a Township Highway Commissioner?

Almost everyone’s image of a township highway commissioner is an older man, wearing bib overalls, who operates a road grader or drives a dump truck. Actually, the highway commissioner is a combination of people, such as:

• Engineer - someone has to decide what to do with the roads/bridges
• Economist – someone has to decide the most economical method for spending money
• Accountant – someone has to keep track of the money spent
• Banker – someone has to decide where to get the best money deal
• Lawyer – someone has to interpret and follow the rules
• Judge – someone has to figure out what the fairest way is to handle drainage problems
• Equipment Manager – someone has to keep the equipment running
• Politician – someone must promise the world, then deliver just enough to keep most of the people happy some of the time
• A Man (or Woman), wearing bib overalls (or Not), operating a road grader or driving a dump truck - someone has to do the road work

---Based on a handout from George Sherer, Former IDOT District 5 engineer

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