Positions in this series are responsible for maintaining highways and highway structures to ensure the safe and efficient movement of goods, services, and people throughout the state. Positions perform a variety of highway maintenance, repair, and/or incident response activities in one or more of the following areas:

• General maintenance of highway structures and rest areas;
• Maintenance of ditches and culverts for proper water flow;
• Landscaping of highway rights-of-way, such as assisting in planting trees hand/chemical weeding and tree and brush removal;
• Maintenance of highway safety features such as signage and guardrails;
• Directing traffic;
• Clearing highways of debris due to traffic incidents;

Performs routine highway maintenance tasks. Uses a variety of highway equipment and tools to make minor repairs to highways and/or rest areas.

Under close supervision, performs a variety of entry-level highway maintenance tasks such as: making minor repair to highways and signage, assisting in the landscaping of highway rights-of-way, or maintaining rest rooms and other facilities at rest areas.

Makes minor repairs to highways, highway shoulders and related structures such as guardrails and guardrail posts; picks up litter, debris and dead animals; cleans ditches and culverts to ensure a good flow of water;

Cuts brush, trees and other vegetation on the right-of-way; assists in the landscaping of highway rights-of-way and in the planting and maintenance of a variety of ground cover, plants and trees; plants, transplants, trims, prunes, weeds, sows seeds, fertilizes, labels, picks up litter; stakes and waters landscaped areas; trims and mows grass;  

Operates Class A equipment as designated on the approved Department of Transportation Equipment List as needed; may be required to operate Class B and C level equipment on an as-needed basis with appropriate pay provisions except in a training program; 

Performs preventive maintenance on equipment and hand tools;  

Performs traffic control duties when assigned;  

Opens and closes floating or lift span bridges;

Performs minor bridge maintenance tasks such as sweeping, guardrail repair and greasing and oiling mechanical components;

Paints sign posts and buildings with a brush, roller or spray gun; assists in the painting of traffic arrows, crosswalks and stop bars using templates, spray gun and brush;

Operates snow and ice control equipment; loads trucks from stockpiles or pits;

Squares and cleans holes in the highway and knocks off rough edges with a jackhammer or other hand tools and patches with cement or hot/cold asphalt mix;  

Operates a truck in order to pull spreader box, haul riprap, hot or cold mix, sand, gravel and other materials and equipment used for highway maintenance and repair;  

Installs and removes culverts; 

Makes minor repairs to damaged roadside signs; assists in the installation and repair of highway signs and guardrail;  

Applies pesticide when assigned;  

Cleans rest rooms at rest areas, replenishing toilet supplies; empties garbage and litter containers and transports litter to disposal site; sweeps, cleans and maintains rest area sidewalks and parking strips; cleans, sweeps and washes picnic tables; answers questions and assists motoring public;  

Performs routine patrol or call-out for highway incidents to expedite traffic flow. Clears debris from highway and may provide motorist assistance; 

Acts as flagger, places traffic cones and other traffic control devices to ensure a smooth flow of traffic;  

Occasionally assists with rough carpentry, stone masonry and cement work and uses the appropriate tools connected therewith;  

Maintains good safety and public relations and practices;  

May operate Class A heavy equipment as designated on the approved Department of Transportation Equipment List; may operate Class B and C level equipment on an as-needed basis with appropriate pay provisions except in a training program;  

Performs other related work as required.

Knowledge of: standard practices necessary for proper operation of hand tools and motor-driven equipment; safety practices; basic arithmetic.    

Ability to: read and write; understand and carry out simple written and oral instructions; perform various types of manual labor; perform outside work as may be required in all types of weather; operate various types of motor-driven equipment and hand tools; work safely with hazardous materials; use computers, iPads, smart phones etc. to communicate, and retrieve information using Word, Outlook, Excel, etc.

There may be instances where individual positions must have additional licenses or certification. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure the appropriate licenses/certifications are obtained for each position.

Persons legally authorized to work in the U.S. under federal law, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, are eligible for employment unless prohibited by other state or federal law.

High school graduation or possession of a GED certificate and one (1) year of experience performing maintenance activities in a related field of work.

Revise class. Revises minimum qualifications; adopted October 12, 1971.
Revise class. Revises title (formerly Highway Maintenance Man 1), general revision; adopted September 7, 1973.
Revise class. Revises class code (formerly 7065), Highway Maintenance Class Study; adopted July 1, 1975.
Revise class. Revises distinguishing characteristics, minimum qualifications, special provisions; adopted September 12, 1980.
Revise class. Revises minimum qualifications (deletes special note); adopted April 10, 1981.
Revise class. Revises minimum qualifications; adopted May 14, 1982.
Revise class. Revises minimum qualifications, general revision; adopted January 14, 1983.
Revise class. Revises definition, adopted June 15, 1984.
Revise class. Revises distinguishing characteristics, general revision; adopted December 13, 1985.
Revise class. Revises minimum qualifications; adopted October 13, 1989.
Revise class. Revises minimum qualifications; adopted February 9, 1990.
Revise class. Revises minimum qualifications; adopted June 15, 1990.
Revise class. Revises minimum qualifications; adopted April 10, 1992.
Revise class. Revises definition, distinguishing characteristics, minimum qualifications, general revision; adopted September 10, 1993.
Revise class. General revision; adopted May 10, 2007, effective July 1, 2007.
Revise title (formerly Maintenance Technician 1), definition, distinguishing characteristics, typical work, legal requirements and desirable qualifications; added class series concept and knowledge and abilities; base range salary adjustment; adopted June 13, 2019, effective July 1, 2019.


Revised Legal Requirements; effective June 6, 2024, due to adopted legislative action.