Haverhill, MA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)

Article VII of Chapter 222, Sidewalk Construction, sets out how Haverhill pays for sidewalk work the City itself orders. Section 222-38 assigns construction or completion of any sidewalk ordered by the City Council to the City's own Highway Department, which must keep an accurate account of the cost and, once finished, certify the total expense to the City Engineer. Section 222-39 has the City Engineer prepare the plans and specifications, filed with the City Clerk. If a property owner instead wants to build or repair a sidewalk privately, § 222-40 requires the City Engineer's plans and specifications to be prepared and filed first, a bond posted under the same conditions as the street-opening bond in § 222-12, and a permit from the Superintendent of Highways, with the work supervised by the Superintendent throughout.

Once the City completes an ordered sidewalk, § 222-41 assesses one-half of the entire cost and expense proportionally against all owners of land abutting that sidewalk, reduced by any amount the owner already paid toward the same sidewalk under another method. Section 222-42 has the City Engineer certify to the City Council, for assessment purposes, the total cost, the frontage of each abutting estate, the names of the owners, any prior payments, and each owner's proportional share. In practice, this means Haverhill property owners do not maintain their own sidewalks independently, the Highway Department builds and repairs them, but owners are billed for half the cost through a special assessment tied to their frontage.