Town of Copake, NY Chapter 149 Highway Specifications

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Copake 4-9-1987. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Notification of defects — See Ch. 166.

Subdivision of land — See Ch. 197.

Zoning — See Ch. 232.

§ 149-1 General provisions.

A. The following minimum road specifications shall apply to all roads proposed to be dedicated to the Town of Copake.

B. Construction of a road in accordance with these specifications shall not obligate the Town of Copake to accept such road as a public road in the absence of formal dedication and acceptance of the same by the Town Board.

C. No highway, road or street within the Town of Copake hereafter constructed or improved will be accepted by the Town Board of the Town of Copake as a town highway or for maintenance with town funds until six months have elapsed since the completion thereof as certified by the Town Superintendent of Highways and unless the construction is in accordance with the standards and specifications contained herein. Any road dedicated to the town must be in a state of repair acceptable to the Town Superintendent of Highways at the time of its dedication and acceptance by the town.

D. No new highway, road or street in the Town of Copake shall be constructed until the plat and plans for the highways, roads or streets, including necessary drainage systems, have been completed and approved by the Town Superintendent of Highways. If any bridge work is required, specifications must be obtained from the Columbia County Department of Public Works Commissioner. Intersection plan approval and all necessary permits must be obtained from the governing body maintaining the road at which the proposed rights-of-way will intersect. Prior to starting excavating, an inspection and approval of the proposed roads and rights-of-way must be made by the Town Superintendent of Highways.

E. The Town Superintendent of Highways shall be provided with two copies of a certified survey map made by a licensed land surveyor showing the proposed road rights-of-way and any necessary drainage easements. Prior to the start of road construction, the proposed twenty-foot traveled way with four-foot shoulders on each side shall be laid out with temporary wooden grade stakes. These stakes shall be placed every 100 feet on tangents and every 50 feet on curves. All proposed lot entrances shall be marked with stakes. Detailed specifications showing limits of all cuts and fills shall be shown on the subdivision plans and marked on the grade stakes. The aforementioned stakeout shall be reviewed and approved by the Town Superintendent of Highways prior to the beginning of construction. A set of cross sections of the proposed road section and its relationship to the existing ground shall be provided for the Town Superintendent of Highways. Cross sections shall be developed at seventy-five-foot intervals and at stations where abrupt changes in the topography occur. Any areas requiring more than a fifty-foot right-of-way shall be noted on the subdivision plans and cross sections.

§ 149-2 Rights-of-way.

A. The rights-of-way for all local highways, roads and streets shall be a minimum of 50 feet in width at all points, unless otherwise directed by the Town Superintendent of Highways.

B. Easements for private utilities shall be provided and/or reserved adjacent to each side of the street right-of-way. The easements shall have a width of 10 feet and be reserved from the private properties which they cross. When private utility easements are not possible, underground utilities shall be placed within the four-foot shoulder of the road.

C. The burial of such utilities in the easements on private property shall be the same as in the public rights-of-way.

D. If a dead-end street is necessary, a cul-de-sac shall be constructed at the end of the road. The cul-de-sac shall have a minimum right-of-way diameter of 200 feet with a twenty-foot minimum paved traveled way of seventy-five-foot radius to the center line. The island portion of the cul-de-sac shall be drained with a minimum of two culverts placed under the road to assure proper drainage of the center of the cul-de-sac and the road ditches. The center of the cul-de-sac shall be at least 12 inches above the center grade of the finished road surface. (See Diagram No. 3, Typical Cul-De-Sac.[1])

[1] Editor's Note: Diagram No. 3 is included at the end of this chapter.

§ 149-3 Pavement width.

A. The paved section of any local highway, road or street shall not be less than 20 feet in width at all points, unless otherwise directed by the Town Superintendent of Highways.

B. All highways, roads and streets shall be centered in the rights-of-way.

§ 149-4 Intersections.

For specifications regarding intersections, see Diagram No. 2, Intersection Detail, which is included at the end of this chapter.

§ 149-5 Clearing of trees and brush.

All trees shall be cleared at a minimum distance of eight feet on each side of the proposed roadway (total of 36 feet for a twenty-foot road) and all brush throughout the required right-of-way. On curves, an additional amount shall be cleared wherever necessary to maintain a minimum visibility of 150 feet at the paving edge along the inside of the curve. The Town Superintendent of Highways may waive the clearing of certain trees within the right-of-way.

§ 149-6 Rough grading.

A. All topsoil shall be stripped from the bed of the proposed paved section, shoulder section and under the width of all fills. All stumps, loose stones, debris and brush shall be removed from beneath the traveled way and the shoulder to a depth of two feet below the finished grade.

B. Prior to subbase placement, a geotextile fabric (Exxon GTF 200 or equal) shall be placed in accordance with Section 207, Geotextile, of the New York State Department of Transportation Standard Specification Manual (current edition).

C. The subgrade shall be prepared by excavating and/or filling, removing unstable materials and replacing them with a foundation course as required by the Town Superintendent of Highways and thoroughly compacted. Material to be used in fill sections shall consist of run-of-bank material free from all organic material.

D. Embankments should be no steeper than four horizontal to one vertical (4:1). Steeper embankments require approval of the Town Superintendent of Highways.

E. An excavated slope should be no steeper than three horizontal to one vertical (3:1). Every effort shall be made to blend in cuts and fills with the adjacent properties (even to the extent of cutting and filling out of rights-of-way prior to sale of lots).

F. Maximum center-line grades shall not exceed 10%, and driveway entrances shall not exceed a three-percent grade in the first 20 feet.

§ 149-7 Subbase.

A. Description. This item shall consist of a subbase course composed of gravel or crushed stone as specified by the Town Superintendent of Highways, laid on a properly prepared subgrade to a finished thickness of not less than 12 inches followed by a finished course composed of fine gravel as specified by the Town Superintendent of Highways and shall conform to the lines, grades and typical cross section as shown on the approved drawings. The road shall be allowed to settle for at least 12 months or the contractor may elect to compact the gravel in six-inch lifts with a ten-foot vibrating roller. If the contractor elects to waive the twelve-month settling period and compact the gravel, the contractor will assume full responsibility for any additional underdrainage needed that would have been detected during the twelve-month settling period.

(1) A total thickness of the rolled, compacted and finished subbase course shall not be less than 18 inches.

(2) All culverts within the road area must be completed and proper drainage provided before any subbase aggregate is placed upon the subgrade.

B. Materials. All materials shall be secured from approved sources. The gravel or broken stone shall consist of clean, durable, uniform quality and grading and shall be free from thin or elongated pieces, soft or disintegrated stone, dirt or other objectionable features.

C. Construction methods.

(1) Preparation of the subgrade. All boulders, organic material, soft clay, spongy material and other objectionable material shall be removed and replaced with approved material. The subgrade shall then be properly shaped, rolled and uniformly compacted to the approved cross section and grade.

(2) Placing and rolling aggregates. All subbase course material shall be deposited and spread by means of spreader boxes or approved mechanical equipment or from moving vehicles equipped to distribute the gravel or crushed stone in a uniform layer. Each layer shall not be less than six inches in thickness after compaction and shall be constructed as follows:

(a) Immediately following the spreading of the gravel or course aggregate, all material placed shall be compacted to the full width by rolling with a minimum ten-ton vibrating roller. At all places not accessible to the roller, the subbase course material shall be tamped thoroughly with mechanical tampers or with hand tampers.

(b) If any irregularities or depressions appear during the twelve-month settling period or while rolling, they should be remedied by loosening the material at these places and by removing or adding gravel or course aggregate, as may be required, after which the area disturbed shall be rolled until compacted satisfactorily to a smooth and uniform surface.

(c) If subgrade material shall become churned into or mixed with the subbase course, such mixture of subgrade material and gravel or crushed stone shall be removed and replaced with gravel or clean aggregate of the proper size and compacted as specified above.

(3) Testing the surface. After compacting, the subbase course surface shall be tested with a straight edge 10 feet in length, paralleling the center line of the roadway, and any depressions exceeding 3/8 inch in depth shall be satisfactorily eliminated.

(4) Seasonal limits. No subbase course material shall be deposited or shaped when the subgrade is frozen, thawing or during unfavorable weather conditions.

(5) Protection of subbase course. After completion of subbase course, as specified above, no traffic shall be allowed over its surface other than that absolutely necessary to haul material for the surface course.

§ 149-8 Pavement.

A. In preparation for paving, the twenty-foot minimum traveled way shall be free of any holes, dips, bumps, etc. Then an application of MC250 or equivalent penetrating emulsion oil at a rate of 4/10 gallon per square yard shall be applied and chipped with 1A stone and rolled.

B. The paving material shall conform to the latest edition of New York State Department of Transportation Standard Specifications in quality, application and construction.

C. The two-course pavement shall consist of a two-and-one-half-inch compacted NYSDOT item 403.13 asphalt-concrete Type 3 binder and one-and-one-half-inch compacted NYSDOT item 403.17 asphalt-concrete type 6F top course (high friction).

D. As an alternate to the method described in Subsection C above, a cold-mix bituminous pavement may be used. The base course of the top shall consist of a gravel and asphalt cold-mix compressed to a minimum of three inches. The base shall be left to cure for at least 14 days, at which time the finish course shall be applied. The finish course shall consist of fine stone, sand and asphalt cold-mix compressed to a minimum of two inches. The material shall be applied with a paver and shall be rolled a minimum of once with a ten-ton vibrating steel wheel roller. After a curing period of 14 days, the traveled way shall be sealed with 702-3301HM-S2 or 702-4101CRS-2 emulsion oil at a rate of 3/10 gallon per square yard, chipped over with 1A stone and rolled with a ten-ton roller.

E. The finished lateral pavement grade shall be 1/4 inch to one foot slope.

§ 149-9 Shoulders.

Shoulders shall be of compacted gravel or crushed stone, not less than four feet in width or as may be required by the Town Superintendent of Highways. Shoulders shall be a slope of 5/8 inch per one foot.

§ 149-10 Drainage.

A. A complete system of surface drainage shall be installed to dispose of stormwater. When the discharge of stormwater shall be onto, upon or through private property, proper easements shall be granted to the Town of Copake and shall convey the perpetual right to discharge stormwater runoff from the highway and from the surrounding areas onto and over the affected premises by means of pipes, culverts or ditches or a combination thereof, together with the right to enter such premises for the purpose of making such installation and doing such maintenance work as the town may deem necessary to adequately drain the highway and the surrounding area. Where a drainage easement discharges onto or terminates at property of a third party, the consent for an easement, properly executed, to channel or discharge stormwater from such third party must be obtained by the owner of the road or street. All drainage easements shall be a minimum of 20 feet in width. The center of all ditches with a zero percent 0% to 4.99% grade shall have a nine-foot set back from the edge of the shoulder of the road. The center of all ditches with a 5% to 10% grade shall have a nine-and-one-half-foot setback from the edge of the shoulder of the road to allow for a three-foot V on each side of the center of the ditch. The V is to be filled with a minimum of six inches of gabion stone to prevent erosion. On a ten-percent grade, road ditches shall have a water runoff a minimum of every 100 feet to ensure proper drainage from the ditches. The use of check dams shall be considered for placement in road ditches and stream channels where diversion of water is restricted. See Diagram No. 1, Typical Road Sections, Diagram No. 1A, Lined Ditch Detail, and Diagram No. 1B, Superelevated Section, for ditch details.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Diagram Nos. 1, 1A and 1B are included at the end of this chapter.

B. All culverts shall be designed to handle a storm of 10 years' frequency. Culvert pipes shall be of approved aluminum, galvanized metal or copper steel and not less than 15 inches in diameter. Pipes shall be installed in a straight line and at a uniform rate of grade between points to match grade and direction of drainage swales. Any changes in grade or direction may require the placement of a catch basin which will be determined by the Town Superintendent of Highways. All culvert head walls shall be laid up stone and concrete or gabion baskets filled with gabion stone. No culvert head walls shall extend above the shoulder of the road. Metal flared culvert end sections may be installed in lieu of headwalls at the discretion of the Town Superintendent of Highways. A cross-section view of each culvert crossing under all proposed subdivision roads shall be included in the final plans. (See Diagram No. 4, Typical Culvert Pipe Section.[2])

[2] Editor's Note: Diagram No. 4 is included at the end of this chapter.

C. If underdrainage is needed, a complete set of plans shall be submitted to the Town Superintendent of Highways for approval. Underdrainage shall be a minimum of two feet below subgrade surface and shall be at least six-inch diameter ADS perforated plastic pipe or equivalent, and proper manufactured couplings shall be used. Underdrainage shall have a minimum of six inches of three-fourths-inch drainage stone completely surrounding the pipe. If an open ditch is required due to excessive runoff, one-and-one-half-inch quarry stone shall be installed from the level of the three fourths-inch stone and filled to the grade of the ditch. Underdrainage pipe shall have a minimum pitch of four inches in a one-hundred-foot span.

D. All culverts shall be a minimum of six inches below subgrade surface and shall have a minimum of six inches of bank-run gravel completely surrounding the pipe.

§ 149-11 Delineators.

A. Delineators shall be placed in accordance with the minimum standards of Section 646, Delineators, of the current edition of the New York State Department of Transportation Standard Specifications and Subchapter G, Part 291, Delineation Devices, of the New York State Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Additional delineators shall be placed by order of the Town Superintendent of Highways.

B. All culverts, driveways and curves shall be marked with plowable markers. Markers shall be a maximum of 25 feet apart on curves, and straightaways shall have markers every 125 feet where possible to mark the shoulder of the road. Marker type shall be approved by the Town Superintendent of Highways prior to placement.

§ 149-12 Finished grade and seeding.

All slopes shall be finish graded from the edge of the shoulder to the toe or top of the slope with a minimum of four inches of topsoil and shall be sown with hearty grass seed in sufficient quantity to produce turf that will stabilize the slope, unless otherwise directed by the Town Superintendent of Highways.

§ 149-13 Monuments.

Sufficiently reinforced concrete or granite markers, at least four inches square on top and 4 1/2 feet long, must be set located at all changes in direction of rights-of-way, including points of tangent of curves and points of tangent at corners and at the intersection of lot lines with rights-of-way. Monuments shall also be placed every 100 feet on tangents and every 50 feet on curves.

§ 149-14 Inspection.

A. Agents of the town shall have access to all parts of the work while under construction at all times. No portion of the work which will not be exposed upon final completion shall be covered until reasonable opportunity for inspection after written notice has been given. Approval under these specifications shall be made by the Town Superintendent of Highways.

B. It shall be required at the owner's or developer's expense that a New York State licensed engineer certify to the Town Board and the Town Superintendent of Highways that the roads have been constructed true to line and grade and that the drainage system has been constructed in accordance with the road construction plans. A reproducible copy and four prints of the plans for any drainage system shall be submitted to the Town Superintendent of Highways upon completion of the road and utility work, unless the supplying of the same is specifically waived, in writing, by the Town Superintendent of Highways.

§ 149-15 Underground utilities.

All underground utilities which are to be in the right-of-way, including water, sewer, drain, gas, electricity, telephone and cable television, including junction boxes, risers, manhole, catch basins and all pull boxes, shall be completely installed prior to construction of the subbase. When underground utilities must cross the road, they shall be run through conduit for electric and plastic for all other utilities so removal and repairs may be made without disturbing the road. All excavations shall be suitably filled and tampered with vibratory tampers. All utility lines shall be buried a minimum of 30 inches to the top of the pipes and cables and 18 inches to the top of boxes, except for culverts designed to carry stormwater. Manhole and catch basin frames shall be a minimum of six inches deep and shall be designed to carry H-20 loading.

§ 149-16 Completion.

Approved road name signs shall be installed when the road has been completed. Mailboxes shall be in a cluster set back eight feet from the traveled way of the road in a thirty-foot pull-off. The mailbox pull off shall be topped with the same material used on the traveled way of the road, and the ditch line shall be set back four feet from the edge of the pull-off or the water may be piped under the pull-off with approved culverts. Any additional right-of-way necessary for the construction of mailbox clusters shall be provided by the developer and shown on the subdivision plans. (See Diagram No. 5, Mailbox Cluster.[1])

[1] Editor's Note: Diagram No. 5 is included at the end of this chapter.