Public Works Week is an annual event signed into law by John F. Kennedy in 1962 to help educate people about the role of the public works department in their community.

Waynesboro marks this celebration with a special Saturday event at our Public Works Operations location at 900 Essex Avenue on the 3rd week of May of each year. The various departments within Public Works have dedicated themselves to teaching the community more about who we are as we celebrate our accomplishments during Public Works Day. Engineers, Street, Sewer and Water Crews, Landfill Technicians, Recycling Coordinators, Water Technicians, Sewage Treatment Plant Technicians and Support Personnel strive to make the displays at our celebration interactive. Participants are offered the opportunity to operate a backhoe; daring individuals can take a ride up forty feet high in a bucket truck; signal lights can be hand operated; and hands-on displays are always offered to teach children about engineering and other concepts.

In 2008 two new interactive exhibits were introduced : “Infrastructure Treasure Hunt” which will allow participants to discover what vital components lie beneath the surface of daily life activities; and “Locate and Excavate” which is a simulation of a city work experience with a collaborative parent/child team working together to locate and excavate buried utility lines with prizes for accuracy and speed. The event also spotlights the final rounds of the city’s annual heavy equipment rodeo that pits seasoned drivers against each other with the winners representing the city at the national competition.