Highway Maintenance Worker - Bird Island Shop

Selection Process:

Applications will be accepted until 6/17/26

First round interviews will be held via technology on: 6/25/26

For those selected, second round interviews will be held in person on: 7/1/26

Job Summary:

Provides skilled, semi-skilled and manual labor to safely operate equipment to maintain highways, bridges, roads, parks, landfill, county properties, and rights-of-way.  Performs maintenance, diagnostics and minor repairs of vehicles and equipment.  Subject to a 30-minute response time for 24/7 callout for all types of highway maintenance issues.

This position is currently located out of the Bird Island Shop.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following.  Other responsibilities and duties may be assigned.

• Safely operates light and heavy equipment to perform road and bridge maintenance functions.
  • Erects and repairs guardrails, highway markers, and snow fences.
  • Seal coating, involves brooming with a self-propelled power broom prior to applying liquid bituminous road oil with distributor, applying liquid bituminous road oil with a distributor truck, applying cover aggregate with chip spreader, rolling with pneumatic roller, and sweeping with a self-propelled or pull behind power broom.
  • Drives truck to transport crew and equipment to work site.
  • Drives tandem axle truck or motor grader for snow removal equipped with adjustable snowplow, wing, sander, and underbody. Operates snow blowers and dozer.
  • Drives tractor with mower attachment for grass, weed, and brush control.
  • Truck operation includes graveling of roads, sanding, hauling, stockpiling of gravel and seal coating materials, hauling of miscellaneous materials and maintenance of truck (lubrication, cleaning, changing cutting edges, etc.).
  • Operation of motor grader includes blading and shaping of gravel roads, back sloping, ditch re-shaping, miscellaneous shaping, and maintenance of the equipment (lubrication, cleaning, changing cutting edges, etc.).
  • Repair and replace culverts, repair bridges, using backhoe and/or loader, trucks for hauling fill material and hand tools, etc.
  • Operate front end loader, backhoe, tandem truck with pups, dozer, snow blower, water truck, skid loader with attachments, tar kettle, front end loader with cage (cherry picker) to trim branches, put in tile intakes, clean ditches, etc.
  • Re-shoulder shoulders on paved roads using grader mounted shouldering machine, trucks to haul material, roller, and water truck for compaction.
  • Patching bituminous roads.
  • Crack filling and sealing consisting of pouring liquid asphaltic filler into the cracks. Flammable, danger of explosion.  Material gives off fumes.
  • Check roads for hazards, traffic problems and condition of signs, general condition assessing needs.

• Performs related skilled, semi-skilled, and manual labor to maintain roadsides, parks, county buildings, public drainage systems, landfill, and other projects as required.
  • Picking up litter along roads.
  • Operates jackhammer, tamper, air compressor, and rollers.
  • Spray and mow weeds and trees in the right of way.
  • Upkeep of various county Shops and grounds.
  • Tree cutting and brush control along county roads using chainsaws, high lift, woodchipper, skid loader and trucks.
  • Traffic control during maintenance operation, consisting of flagging and placing, moving, and removing signs and barricades, requiring wearing of proper safety clothing.
  • Thawing out culverts.
• Performs equipment inspections as required by Minnesota law and county policy.
• Performs routine maintenance on all types of light and heavy equipment.
• Performs maintenance and improvement of park buildings, landscapes, and grounds.
• Operate heavy equipment at landfill to properly place received materials.
• Performs other comparable duties of a like or similar nature as assigned.
• Track and report the quantity and location of all materials hauled.

Job Relationships:

Internal Interactions With:  Various county offices as needed.

External Interactions With:  Utility companies for coordination of utility locations and protection; Contractors for coordination of road work and contractor operations; city and township officials for coordination of road maintenance, general public to answer questions, explain roadwork, and listen to comments from public.  Frequent complaints and conflicting demands on time and worker required.  State coordination and cooperation on road maintenance.

Qualification Requirements: 

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience: 

High school diploma or general education degree (GED) and two years of related experience in highway maintenance and construction work including operation and maintenance of equipment related to highway maintenance and construction; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Language Skills: 

Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence, and memos.  Ability to write simple correspondence.  Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one situations to customers, clients, and other employees of the organization.

Mathematical and Computer Skills: 

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.  Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and judge depth and density.  Basic computer skills are required.

Reasoning Ability: 

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.  Ability to deal with problems involving several variables in different situations.  Ability to use independent judgment to analyze a variety of changing conditions and determine the course of action necessary to continue, complete or initiate a wide range of work assignments.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations:

Valid Class B Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) with airbrake and satisfactory driving record. 

Must obtain and maintain a Class A Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) with tanker endorsement during probationary period. 

New hires must register with the FMSCA Clearinghouse. 

Employees must consent to annual query of FMSCA Clearinghouse.

Other Skills and Abilities:

Skilled in operating heavy and light trucks and equipment, hand equipment and other miscellaneous department tools, materials and equipment.  Skilled in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with department personnel, other county employees, and the public.  Ability to manage own priorities and schedule in area of responsibility or assigned geographic area.  Ability to represent the county in a professional manner to all internal and external contacts when doing the county’s business.

Physical Demands:

This work requires the regular exertion of up to 10 pounds of force and occasional exertion of up to 100 pounds of force;  work regularly requires walking, speaking or hearing, using hands to finger, handle or feel, climbing or balancing and reaching with hands and arms, frequently requires standing, sitting, stooping, kneeling, crouching or crawling, pushing  or pulling, lifting and repetitive motions and occasionally requires tasting or smelling; work requires distance vision, ability to adjust focus, depth perception, color perception, night vision and peripheral vision; vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word and conveying detailed or important instructions to others accurately, loudly or quickly; hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels and to receive detailed information through oral communications and/or to make fine distinctions in sound; work requires visual inspection involving small defects and/or small parts, using of measuring devices, assembly or fabrication of parts within arm’s length, operating machines, operating motor vehicles or equipment and observing general surroundings and activities; work frequently requires working near moving mechanical parts, exposure to outdoor weather conditions and exposure to vibration and occasionally requires wet, humid conditions, working in high, precarious places, exposure to fumes or airborne particles, exposure to toxic or caustic chemicals, exposure to extreme cold, exposure to the risk of electrical shock, wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus and exposure to blood borne pathogens and may be required to wear specialized personal protective equipment; work is generally in a loud noise location (e.g. grounds maintenance, heavy traffic).

Please note:

 Completion of the employment history section of the application, or submission of an uploaded resume, is required in order to be considered for this position.

Renville County Benefits Information:

https://www.renvillecountymn.gov/employment/benefits/

Salary : $25 - $35