Every city has a list of things best described as “Someone has to do it.”

The Oxford Public Works Department are the ones who do it for our city on a constant 24-hour a day basis, normally working without fanfare, and frequently only noticed as those people standing near the road wearing safety vests.

The city of Oxford takes the occasion of National Public Works Week to pay tribute to our dedicated team of professionals for their planning, designing, building, managing, and operating the infrastructure that improves the quality of life for the citizens of Oxford.

Their efforts often remain in the background as they ensure things are going well such as safe and passable roads, appropriate signage, neatly mowed right of ways, and the pickup of lawn debris.

The work they do can also help save lives as when events take a wrong turn and they are needed to clear the way for police, fire, and EMS to get to those in need of assistance.

“We have increased from a city being three miles long to a city 18 miles long, and that would present a challenge to any Public Works department,” said Mayor Alton Craft. “What our Public Works department does in serving an area that large is just amazing. Their ingenuity in making improvements and solving problems has been impressive over the years. This is a department of which I, the city council, and our entire city can take a lot of pride.”