Driveway Apron and Road Entrance Work in Onondaga County

You are, and the county says so in plain terms. Onondaga County's policy is that property owners having access to a county highway are fully responsible for maintenance of their driveway and channelization, including the portion from the highway right of way line to the outside edge of the highway shoulder or curb. That responsibility takes in removal of snow and ice, keeping the portion inside the right of way in a safe condition for the general public, and maintaining the ditches, pipes, catch basins, grates, detention ponds and other drainage structures built in connection with providing access to the property, unless other legally binding arrangements acceptable to the department have been made. The unusual part is that being responsible for it does not make it yours to dig up: that still needs the county's permit.

It depends which permit. For a modification to an existing driveway, widening and repaving included, the Work in the Right of Way permit needs a site plan or sketch showing the proposed work in relation to the center of the road, a one million dollar insurance policy naming Onondaga County as additionally insured, and a workers compensation policy, with fees set by the department and a deposit returned after inspection. For a new drive, the Access Permit needs the front property corners and the center of the proposed driveway staked so the county can verify sight distance and drainage, notification by email, and where a new structure is being built, the town's Code Enforcement Officer's signature and date on the last page of the application. Published access fees include $15 for a residential drive and $25 for construction and temporary drives, plus a $500 deposit returned once the work is completed and inspected.

Because it is doing a harder job. It takes the plow salt off the road as well as the salt cars carry in, it is where the wheels turn under load, it spans the culvert if there is one, and it sits exactly where the subgrade, the fill depth and the drainage all change abruptly. New York State's Department of Transportation lists that abrupt change, along with the ground over culvert pipes and driveways damming highway ditches with a blocked or missing culvert, among the places differential heaving is most apparent. So an apron failing on its own is usually a drainage report rather than a concrete report, and answering the drainage question is what makes the new concrete last.

Yes. The Access Permit process exists so the department can verify sight distance and drainage at the proposed location, which is why the applicant stakes the front property corners and the center of the drive before anyone reviews it. If the county is not satisfied the location meets minimum requirements it will determine the safest location itself or deny access altogether. For subdivisions it goes further and requires the property owner's surveyor to perform the sight distance checks and provide the results for review. Worth knowing before a new drive is designed around a particular spot.

New York Highway Law section 136 provides that no person, firm, corporation or municipality shall construct or improve an entrance or connection within the county road right of way without a work permit issued by the county superintendent or a duly designated agent, and that a violator is liable to a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for each day of violation. Onondaga County's own driveway policy states it as up to one thousand dollars for each day. Because it accrues daily rather than once, the exposure is on the homeowner's property and the homeowner's timeline, which is the reason to settle the permit question before the concrete is ordered rather than after the ground is open.