[Adopted as amended 5-16-2012 by Order No. FY 12-146 (Ch. 662 of the 2002 Bylaws)]
[Amended 4-17-2019 by Order No. FY 19-125]
No person, except the Director of Public Works in the performance of usual duties, or, in cases of emergency, shall break or dig up or cause to be broken or dug up the pavement or ground in any public street, or any sidewalk or common in the City, or erect or cause to be erected any building or any staging for building, or other structure thereof, or place or cause to be placed any materials, rubbish, goods, wares, or merchandise or other articles or substance thereon, without first obtaining from the Department of Public Works or Licensing Commission a written permit or license delineating the space in the street or other public place that may be occupied and the time allowed for such occupancy, and such other provisions as it may deem best, and filing with the Director of Public Works or Licensing Commission a written agreement to comply strictly with the terms of the permit or license and these regulations and to indemnify the City from all loss, cost or expense that it may suffer by reason of such occupancy. Excavation/Trench permits, as well as ladder and staging permits, are reviewed and approved by the Department of Public Works. A license to occupy space in the street or other public space is reviewed and approved by the Licensing Commission. Where a written license, as aforesaid, is required in connection with the development of a priority development site (PDS), as defined by § 200-2.1 of the Zoning Ordinance, an application therefor shall be submitted simultaneously with any other permit application(s) required by this Code, including the Zoning Ordinance, relating to the use or development of land, buildings or structures and not otherwise exempted by MGL c. 43D, and a decision thereon shall be rendered no later than 180 days from said date of submission.
[Amended 4-17-2019 by Order No. FY 19-125]
All department heads, persons or corporations owning structures, poles, wires, conduits, pipes, etc., within the limits of the public way within the City shall, on or before the 15th day of March of each year, file a statement with the Director of Public Works showing the work proposed to be done by them requiring the opening of streets during the ensuing year.
[Amended 4-17-2019 by Order No. FY 19-125]
Whenever any street, lane, alley or sidewalk or other public place in the City shall, under any license granted, be dug up, obstructed, encumbered, or otherwise thereby be rendered unsafe or otherwise inconvenient for travel, the person licensed shall put up, and at all times keep up, a suitable and sufficient railing or fence around the section of the street, lane, alley or other public place so obstructed, so long as the same shall be or remain unsafe or inconvenient as aforesaid, and, if required by the Director, shall fit the safety fence with one or more portable lights/lanterns and have them lit every night from 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise so long as such railing or fence shall be kept standing or the obstruction remains.
The contractor shall also, within such time as the Department of Public Works or Licensing Commission shall direct, repair such street, lane or alley, sidewalk or public place, to the acceptance of the Director of Public Works.
[Amended 10-16-2019 by Order No. FY 20-047]
MGL c. 82, § 40A states that contractors making excavations in public way are required to give notice thereof to public utility companies.
A. 
Anyone requiring a curb cut in an existing berm shall be required to obtain an access permit from the Department of Public Works. Application will be made at the Engineering Office of the DPW for processing. Where an access permit is required in connection with the development of a priority development site (PDS), as defined by § 200-2.1 of the Zoning Ordinance, an application therefor shall be submitted simultaneously with any other permit application(s) required by this Code, including the Zoning Ordinance, relating to the use or development of land, buildings or structures and not otherwise exempted by MGL c. 43D, and a decision thereon shall be rendered no later than 180 days from said date of submission.
B. 
No curb cuts shall be allowed within 20 feet of an intersecting way, said 20 feet being from the street line layout to the beginning of the curb cut, and all curb cuts shall be constructed with a minimum radius of five feet. The cost of the work shall be borne by the applicant and any related work done by DPW shall be billed to the applicant, if applicable. If work is done by a contractor, all work shall be inspected by the DPW before completion. Notification to the DPW for inspection is the responsibility of the contractor/owner.
[Amended 4-17-2019 by Order No. FY 19-125]
No person, other than a direct employee of a public utility company, as defined in MGL c. 25, § 3, shall, except in an emergency, make an excavation in a public way unless at least 72 hours, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, before the proposed excavation is to be made, he/she has filed an excavation/trench permit with the Department of Public Works and has given notice in writing of the proposed excavation to such public utility companies as supply gas, electricity, water or telephone service in the City or city in which such way is located. Such notice shall set forth the name of the street, or route number of the way, and a reasonably accurate description of the location in which the excavation is to be made.
A. 
Notice requirements for emergency excavations. If such notice be given as aforesaid because of an emergency, it shall be given as soon as may be practicable.
B. 
Filing of notices. Copies of such notices, together with a statement certifying that they have been mailed or delivered to such public utility companies as provided by the preceding provisions of this article, shall be filed with the officer or board having charge of any such public way before a permit to excavate may be approved or issued, except in case of an emergency.
C. 
Excavations as part of government contracts. Where an excavation is to be made by a contractor as part of the work required by a contract with the commonwealth or with any political subdivision thereof or other public agency, for the construction, reconstruction, relocation or improvement of a public way or for the installation of a railway track, conduit, sewer or water main, such contractor shall be deemed to have complied with the requirements of this article by giving one such notice setting forth the location and the approximate time required to perform the work involved to the Department of Public Works and to each of said companies.
Proper return notice shall be made by said companies designating the location, if any, of pipes or conduits in that portion of the public way in which the excavation is to be made.
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to affect or impair local ordinances requiring permits to be obtained before excavating in a public way, except that, notwithstanding any contrary provision of local ordinances, no permit to excavate in a public way shall be approved or issued by the officer or board having charge of any such way, except in an emergency, until such time as copies of notices to public utility companies are filed by the applicant for a permit as required by this article.
Whoever violates any provision of this article shall be punished by a fine of not more than $200 for the first offense and not more than $500 for any subsequent offense.
A. 
Monuments of concrete, iron or other lasting material set for the purpose of locating or preserving the lines of any street or property subdivision, or a precise survey reference point or a permanent survey benchmark shall not be removed or disturbed unless permission is first obtained from the Director of Public Works.
B. 
Permission shall be granted only upon condition that the permittee shall pay all expenses incident to the proper replacement of the monument by a professional land surveyor.
A. 
When any earth, gravel or other excavated material is caused to roll, flow or wash upon any street, the permittee shall cause the same to be removed from the street within eight hours after deposit.
B. 
In the event the earth, gravel or other excavated material so deposited is not removed, the Director of Public Works shall cause such removal, and the cost incurred shall be paid by the permittee.
[Amended 10-16-2019 by Order No. FY 20-047]
Work authorized by a permit shall be performed between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, unless the permittee obtains permission from the Director of Public Works to do the work at an earlier or later time. Such permission shall be granted only in case of emergency.
A. 
In granting any permit, the Director of Public Works may attach such other conditions as may be reasonably necessary to prevent damage to public or private property to prevent the operation from being conducted in a manner hazardous to life or property or in a manner likely to create a nuisance.
B. 
Such conditions may include but shall not be limited to:
(1) 
Limitations on the period of the year in which the work may be performed.
(2) 
Restrictions as to the size and type of equipment.
(3) 
Designation of routes upon which materials may be transported.
(4) 
The place and manner of disposal of excavated materials.
(5) 
Requirements as to the laying of dust, the cleaning of the streets, the prevention of noise, and other results offensive or injurious to the neighborhood, the general public, or any portion thereof.
(6) 
Regulations as to the use of streets in the course of the work.
[Amended 10-16-2019 by Order No. FY 20-047]
The initial cutting of pavement shall be done in such a way that a straight, even cut is made.
Open excavations shall be shored or benched as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor for protection of workers.
After an excavation is made in any roadway, the trenches or opening may be filled with the original material to within 24 inches of the road surface unless otherwise ordered by the Director of Public Works.
A. 
After completion of all utility work, all edges shall be saw cut, and the backfill shall be placed and mechanically compacted in six-inch layers to within four inches of finished road surface. All backfill material shall be acceptable to the DPW representative. If unsuitable material is encountered, it shall be replaced with a gravel meeting the approval of the DPW.
B. 
Four inches of Class 1 dense binder per MDOT M3.11.03 shall be laid and compacted in layers not to exceed two inches in depth; the compaction equipment shall be of sufficient weight to obtain a density equal to the surrounding pavement.
C. 
This shall be considered as a temporary patch.
D. 
In case of cold weather or when hot bituminous surface mix is not available, a three-inch layer of cold patch may be applied and rolled.
E. 
All openings with temporary patch shall be checked weekly, with additional temporary patch being added if settling should occur.
A. 
Permanent patch. The permanent patch shall not be applied until one winter season has passed since the completion of the temporary patch, and shall be then patched as follows:
(1) 
The area to be repaired shall be swept clean to remove all loose and foreign material.
(2) 
A binder course of 2 1/2 inches compacted depth shall be placed in accordance with MDOT M3.11.03.
(3) 
A top course of 1 1/2 inches compacted depth shall be placed and rolled to grade to match the surrounding surface and provide proper drainage of the roadway.
(4) 
The edges of rolled areas shall be sealed with suitable asphalt emulsion, and sand shall be spread over the entire newly patched area.
(5) 
The work area shall then be swept of all old and excess material and left in a neat condition.
(6) 
Permanent patches cannot be T- or L-shaped and must be rectangular. Where keyholes occur less than 20 feet apart, patches must be continuously cut and patched as a trench. Trenches greater than 100 feet running parallel to the street line within the roadway must be patched the entire lane width from center line to edge of pavement of a two-lane road and the entire street width of a one-way road. All areas to be patched beyond the limits of excavation shall be milled down 1 1/2 inches and tack coated prior to placement of hot mix asphalt.
[Added 2-20-2019 by Order No. FY 19-090]
(7) 
Permanent patches must be guaranteed for a period of two years with no mounding, sinking or joint gaps. The DPW will inspect the patch at the end of the two-year period. If the permanent patch is not holding to specifications, it will be considered a failed patch. Failed patches are the responsibility of the contractor to be replaced within six months of a notice of failure. The DPW shall have the right to deny future applications to any applicant who fails to repair a failed patch within the six-month time frame.
[Added 2-20-2019 by Order No. FY 19-090]
B. 
It is recognized that asphalt manufacturing plants are not operating during winter months. Therefore, during this period conventional methods of temporary patching shall be used at the direction of the Director of Public Works.
In cases where either brick or concrete subsurface or a stone base is encountered and removed, it shall be replaced in kind or with an equal amount of cement concrete topped with four inches of bituminous concrete which shall be rolled.
[Amended 4-17-2019 by Order No. FY 19-125]
A. 
All information derived from Department of Public Works records relating to the subsurface and other conditions, natural phenomena, existing pipes, and other structures is from the best sources as presently available.
B. 
All such information is furnished only for the information and convenience of contractors and is not guaranteed.
C. 
It is agreed and understood that the City of Greenfield does not warrant or guarantee that the subsurface or other conditions, natural phenomena, existing pipes or other structures encountered during construction will be indicated in the Department of Public Works records.
D. 
It is agreed further and understood that a contractor shall not use or be entitled to use any of the information made available to him/her or obtained in any examination by him/her in any manner as a basis of or grounds for any claim or demand against the City of Greenfield arising from or by reason of any variance which may exist between the information made available and the existing pipes or other structures actually encountered during the construction work.