The roadway shall be certified to meet the requirements of the most recent edition of the following documents, listed here in order of precedence:
A. 
Fire Code of New York State.
B. 
Manual: Guidelines for Rural Town and County Roads, Local Roads Research and Coordination Council.
C. 
Guidelines for Geometric Design of Very Low-Volume Local Roads, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
D. 
Standard Specifications for Construction and Materials, New York State Department of Transportation.
E. 
Highway Design Manual, New York State Department of Transportation.
F. 
Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
The requirements listed in these specifications are for low-volume roads and streets with a maximum average daily traffic (ADT) of 400 vehicles per day.
A. 
Any roadway that does not meet the definition of a low-volume roadway will require standards that are more stringent than those defined in these specifications. In such a case, the entire design must be approved by the Town's engineering consultant and Highway Superintendent before construction.
B. 
All new bridges shall meet the criteria in Chapter 5 of the AASHTO Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets.
C. 
All design criteria shall be listed on the roadway plans, and any criteria not listed in the publication listed above shall be determined using current engineering practice.
D. 
The plans shall designate the source of any design assumptions.
In addition, as a minimum, the road shall meet the following criteria:
A. 
A design life of not less than 20 years with routine maintenance.
B. 
A minimum design speed of 45 miles per hour or as otherwise provided in these specifications.
C. 
A right-of-way of not less than 50 feet.
D. 
A total roadway width of not less than 28 feet.
E. 
A total driving lane width of not less than 20 feet.
F. 
Drainage facilities designed to handle a twenty-five-year storm under the roadway and ten-year storm on all other facilities. The minimum size opening of any pipe is 15 inches in diameter.
G. 
The combined thickness of the subbase, asphalt binder and surface courses shall be at least 16 1/2 inches. This shall be comprised of a minimum of 12 inches of DOT Type 2 subbase on stabilization fabric, three inches of binder, and 1 1/2 inches of top course. If Type 4 subbase is used in lieu of Type 2 subbase, the subbase thickness shall be increased to 16 inches.
H. 
Easements for private utilities shall be provided on each side of the street right-of-way. The easements shall have a width of 10 feet and be reserved from the properties which they cross. Burial of such utilities in the easements shall be the same as in the public right-of-way.
I. 
Minimum design speeds for low-volume (ADT less than 400) roads
Table 1
Minimum Design Speeds
(miles per hour)
Rural Low-Volume Road Classification
Type of Terrain
Type of Roadway
Level
Rolling
Mountainous
Major access
45
45
45
Minor access
45
45
30
Industrial/commercial
30
30
30
Agricultural
30
20
20
Recreational/scenic
30
20
20
The Highway Superintendent may specify additional right-of-way where deep cuts and fills exist in areas adjacent to drainage structures and otherwise with discretion and consideration for the terrain.
Should the road terminate short of the adjacent property line, the right-of-way shall be extended to the adjacent property line. The additional right-of-way shall meet the specifications in §§ A240-12C and A240-15.
Dead-end road designs will terminate with turn-a-rounds or culs-de-sac designed in accordance with figures in the appendix.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The appendix of Standard Roadway Details is included at the end of this chapter.
All proposed roads shall be a minimum of 500 feet in length unless otherwise approved by the Planning Board.
Definitions of design criteria:
A. 
Design life: The time in years from original construction until the present serviceability index has dropped to 2.0.
B. 
Present serviceability index - p (also known as the "terminal serviceability index - pt"): The ability of a roadway to handle traffic as defined by the AASHTO Guide for the Design of Pavement Structures.
C. 
A right-of-way: The width of land owned or controlled by a highway agency for the purpose of maintaining or constructing roads and streets.
D. 
An x-year storm: A runoff event with a probability of occurring in a given year equal to the inverse of the value of the year. A fifty-year storm would have a one-in-fifty (two-percent) chance of occurring in a given year.
E. 
A fifteen-inch-diameter equivalent opening: An area of 176 square inches.
F. 
Design speed: The typical operating speed on a roadway. Also, the speed used to determine the various design features of a roadway based on terrain, traffic volume, and roadway classification.
G. 
Stopping sight distance: The sum of the brake reaction distance (the distance traversed by a vehicle from the instant the driver sights an object necessitating a stop to the instant the brakes are applied) and the braking distance (the distance needed to stop a vehicle from the instant brake application begins).
H. 
Traveled way. The portion of the roadway for the movement of vehicles, exclusive of shoulders.
I. 
Roadway: The portion of a highway, including shoulders, for vehicular use.
All materials and all work shall meet the requirements of the latest revision of the New York State Department of Transportation Standard Specifications for Construction and Materials, including any engineering instructions or bulletins, unless alternatives are approved by the Town Highway Superintendent, in writing, in advance.
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 bushes shall be removed from beneath the traveled way and shoulder to a depth of two feet below the finished grade.
B. 
The subgrade shall be prepared by excavating and/or filling, removing unstable materials and replacing with a foundation course, as required by the 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.
C. 
Excavation slopes in earth should be no steeper than three foot horizontal to one foot vertical. In rock, slopes shall be no steeper than 0.5 foot horizontal to one foot vertical. Every effort should be made to blend in cuts and fills with the adjacent properties.
D. 
Maximum grades shall not exceed 10%. Grades steeper shall require approval by the Planning and Town Boards. The minimum grade should be not less than 1%.
Shoulders shall be of compacted gravel or crushed stone, not less than four feet in width or as may be required by the Planning Board or Town Board.
A. 
A complete system of surface drainage shall be installed to dispose of stormwater. When discharge of stormwater shall be into, upon or through private property, proper easements shall be granted to the Town of Poestenkill and shall convey the perpetual right to discharge stormwater runoff from the highway and from the surrounding area 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 purposes of making such installations 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.
B. 
All culverts under driveways shall be designed to handle a storm of 10 years' frequency. Culvert pipes shall be of approved reinforced concrete, corrugated asphalt- coated galvanized metal or smooth-interior corrugated polyethylene pipe and not less than 15 inches in diameter. The interior of all pipes shall be cleaned of all foreign matter before being placed. Pipe shall be installed in straight lines and at a uniform rate of grade between points to match grade and direction of drainage swales. Any changes in grade or direction shall require the placement of a catch basin.
C. 
Where groundwater drainage is encountered, intercepting (curtain) drains may be required. Every effort should be made to use natural drainage and to minimize the use of underground storm drains. Swales are preferred over storm sewers.
D. 
All culverts shall begin and terminate with flared end sections. Slope conditions will determine the necessity of riprap. All culverts under the travel way shall maintain a minimum of 24 inches of cover and shall be bedded per the trench detail in Appendix A.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is included at the end of this chapter.
Guide rail must conform to minimum New York State specifications and shall be placed as required by the Planning Board and on fills which are dangerous in the opinion of the Town Superintendent of Highways.
All surfaces 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 hardy grass seed in sufficient quantity to produce turf that will stabilize the slope, unless otherwise directed by the Planning Board or Town Board.
Sufficient reinforced concrete or granite markers, at least four inches square on top and 4 1/2 feet long must be set at all changes in direction of right-of-way, including points of curve and points of tangent at corners, and at intersection of lot lines with right-of-way. Number and location shall be sufficient to permit a surveyor to reconstruct the entire right-of-way.
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 by the Town Board and the Superintendent of Highways.
All underground utilities which are to be in the right-of-way, including water, sewer, drain, gas, electricity, telephone, cable television, including junction boxes, risers, manhole, catch basins and pull boxes, shall be completely installed prior to construction of the subbase. All excavations shall be suitably filled and tamped with vibratory tampers. All utility lines shall be buried a minimum of 30 inches to the top of 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 designed to carry H-20 loading.
For projects covering an area of one acre or more, a construction permit notice of intent (NOI) must be filed with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in order to obtain a Stormwater General Permit GP-0-10-001 (or latest version). The NOI shall include a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) consistent with criteria found in the New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual in addition to any other components indicated as necessary by the Instruction Manual for Stormwater Construction Permit. Both documents are available electronically at www.dec.ny.gov. The Town of Poestenkill is an MS-4 community and must review and approve all SWPPPs before a NOI can be filed with DEC.