Town of Munster Indiana

Is the town or homeowner responsible for replacing sidewalks in front of their home? What determines whether or not a sidewalk is to be replaced.

Every homeowner has the option of replacing their own sidewalks should the Town’s timeframe of action not coincide with their own. A new approach to sidewalk replacement was approved April 3, 2017, by the Town Council when Town Engineers SEH, Inc. was commissioned to do a complete Town-wide Sidewalk Inventory and Assessment using an objective, systematic and comprehensive condition assessment approach on all Town sidewalks. This master sidewalk list is now used as the basis for budgeting decisions and prioritizing scarce resources to improve the Town’s sidewalk infrastructure moving forward. Updates to this list and its ratings are ongoing with completed walks removed and other corrections/additions made from field inspections by Public Works crews often requested by Residents to verify hazard ratings that can change due to weather and soil conditions. Field verification discovers and corrects needed changes. Sidewalks with the worst condition ratings will generally be considered as first priority (for either replacement, lifting or grinding) with a special emphasis within School zones and other heavily traveled walkways. All hazards irrespective of condition rating at any selected address placed on the sidewalk replacement list, will be completely fixed. Neighboring sidewalks that immediately flank and prevent correction of the overall hazard of the one being replaced, will also be added to the project. A batch of sidewalks meeting the condition rationale will be grouped together to form one scope of work project, approximating the funds available in the current budget year minus an appropriate contingency for lifting, sprinkler damage, unforeseen collateral damage to the concrete from the demolition process, neighboring problems on flanking walks and for the unanticipated extra squares required to fix all hazards at any given address on the replacement list. As worst condition sidewalks are replaced, they are taken off the list allowing other rated sidewalks further down the list to become selected as the next batch of sidewalks the following year. Any unfinished work is carried over as the first-priority to be added to the next year’s project. Typically, around $100,000 is budgeted annually for sidewalk repairs and replacements done on the worst condition first basis. Occasionally Grant programs or the use of Bond Issues provide funding that helps tackle a larger than typical project area in a forthcoming year. More information on the Town’s Public Sidewalk Replacement Procedures is linked below.

• Public Sidewalk Replacement Procedures