[Adopted 12-27-1979 by Ord. No. 79-39 as Sec. 11-2 of the Revised General Ordinances]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
FAR-SIDE OPENINGS
Any openings which cross the center line of the surface of a road.
IMPROVED ROAD
A. 
CLASS AAny road surfaced with a pavement such as asphalt, concrete, brick or similar pavement; and/or any road having a concrete base.
B. 
CLASS BAny road surfaced with stone or slag uniformly deposited in layers, with a total thickness of not less than four inches, where said stone or slag has been compacted by the use of a power roller and bound together by the application of oil.
C. 
CLASS CAny old macadam or other road surfaced with a light coat of stone and oil or any water-bound macadam road without oil treatment; and any gravel and/or cinder road with oil treatment.
LONGITUDINAL OPENINGS
Openings which run parallel to the center line of the road.
[Added 6-22-1981 by Ord. No. 81-22]
NEAR-SIDE OPENINGS
Any openings which do not cross the center line of the surface of a road.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
The land used or intended for use as streets, as shown on deeds, plats, tax maps or the Master Plan.
[Added 4-23-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-14]
UNIMPROVED ROAD
Any cinder, dirt or gravel road without oil treatment.
[Amended 4-23-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-14]
No person shall cut, dig, drill or make any hole, trench or other excavation in any public right-of-way, road, street, alley or highway under the jurisdiction of the township without first having obtained from the township a permit therefor.
A. 
The application for a permit required by § 152-7 shall be made to the Township Engineer, who is hereby authorized to issue the same, subject to the provisions of this article; the applications shall be made, in writing, on the forms furnished by the Township, and signed by the applicant.
B. 
The permit shall state the name and address of the applicant, the name of the street or road where the opening is to be made and the house number and tax map lot and block number of the property for which the opening is to be made. It shall set forth the reasons for the work proposed, the type of surface to be opened, the classification of the opening under this article, the amount of the fee paid and the time limit for the completion of the work for which the permit is issued.
[Amended 6-22-1981 by Ord. No. 81-22; 4-23-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-14]
[Amended 6-22-1981 by Ord. No. 81-22]
A. 
The application for the permit required by § 152-7 shall pay to the Township Engineer for the use of the township the fee fixed by the schedule contained in Chapter 82, Fees, § 82-13, and post the appropriate bond as outlined in Subsection E below.
[Amended 4-19-1999 by Ord. No. 99-07]
B. 
A municipal or utility corporation may, in lieu of posting of individual bonds, file an approved bond with the Township in the penal sum of $10,000, conditioned for the complete restoration to the satisfaction of the Township Engineer of the foundation and surface of any road permitted by the Township Council to be opened by it.
[Amended 4-19-1999 by Ord. No. 99-07; 4-23-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-14]
C. 
A municipal or utility corporation may, in lieu of the payment of individual permit fees herein prescribed, pay an annual permit fee of $1,000 to cover the costs of administration of said opening applications. The municipal entity or public utility corporation shall be responsible for all inspection fees incurred by the Township, and will reimburse the Township for the cost of said inspections upon receipt of billings from the Township.
[Amended 4-23-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-14]
D. 
No fee shall be required for any permit to open any street to make an underground conduit extension demanded by the township because of a proposed improvement to an unimproved road.
E. 
In the event that the applicant does not have an existing or previously approved bond, the amount of the bond to be posted shall be calculated as follows:
(1) 
Near-side opening: $500.
(2) 
Far-side opening: $1,000.
(3) 
Longitudinal openings: $500 for the first 15 feet, plus $30 per foot for anything in excess of 15 feet.
All permits issued under § 152-7 shall be subject to the following rules and regulations:
A. 
Protection for traveling public. The party or parties to whom the permit is issued shall keep such opening properly guarded and at night shall place lights thereat and, in doing the work, shall interfere as little as possible with the travel along the road and not close the road to traffic unless the party or parties to whom the permit was issued was granted permission so to do by resolution of the Township Council.
B. 
Time limit. In case the work has not been completed before the date of expiration as stated in the permit and the party or parties to whom the permit was issued have not requested an extension of time, the Township Engineer may, if deemed advisable, take steps to backfill the trench and replace a permanent pavement over the opening for which the permit had been issued, and if any extension of time beyond said date is needed for the completion of the work, a new application must be filed.
C. 
Excavation. The work shall be so conducted as not to interfere with any water main, sewer or their connections with houses until permission of the proper authorities shall have been obtained. All rock within five feet of a water main or other pipe which will be damaged thereby shall be removed without blasting. No excavation which will damage trees or township property shall be made without the approval of the township.
[Amended 4-19-1999 by Ord. No. 99-07]
D. 
Trench restoration. All trenches in existing township roads shall be restored to the satisfaction of the Township Engineer, and such restoration shall include the following:
[Amended 12-30-1985 by Ord. No. 85-37]
(1) 
All bedding material in the haunch portion of the bedding area shall be:
(a) 
Choked clean stone using approximately one part clean sand to two parts clean, uniformly graded crushed stone or river gravel; or
(b) 
Sandy gravel (insitu material), if approved by the Engineer on a site specific basis; or
(c) 
Clean stone, only if enveloped with filter fabric of a type approved by the Engineer.
(2) 
Above the bedding haunch area to one foot above the pipe shall be clean sand with not more than 10% passing the number 100 sieve size. This material shall be compacted to 90% maximum dry density.
(3) 
Above the bedding area as described in Subsection D(2) above shall be sand/cement backfill.
(a) 
If placed wet, sand/cement material shall be vibrated sufficiently to ensure that no voids remain, using 180 cycles per second in head motor vibrator or equal.
(b) 
If placed dry, the placement of sand/cement shall be in layers not more than 12 inches deep and compacted to 95% maximum density at optimum moisture content.
(c) 
In the case of either Subsection D(3)(a) or D(3)(b) above, the sand/cement backfill shall be brought to a level six inches below the bituminous concrete stabilized base course and FABC of such thickness as is specified in § 200-91 of the Code of the Township of West Windsor for the specific class of road being restored.
(d) 
Following the placement of the sand/cement backfill, the contractor shall line cut the existing edges of pavement so that the minimum length and width of the existing sound pavement removal shall be not less than 24 inches wider than the widest and longest disturbed portion of the trench excavation. Such line cuts shall be in a clean, single straight line so as to permit proper compaction of 1 to 5 soil aggregate and bituminous stabilized base course.
[Amended 4-23-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-14]
(e) 
Six inches of 1-5 soil aggregate is required in the area identified in Subsection D(3)(d) above. Careful attention should be paid to the percent of content of fines in any portion of the restoration, and such content shall not exceed the current New Jersey Department of Transportation standards for 1-5. This soil aggregate shall be compacted to 95% maximum density at optimum moisture content.
(f) 
Upon proper placement and compaction of the 1-5 soil aggregate and bituminous concrete base course, the edges of the existing pavement of the FABC shall be tack coated with an approved tack coat material. In no case shall the existing pavement thickness reduce the thickness of the pavement restoration requirements.
(g) 
The two inches FABC shall be placed in such a level so as to support the entire weight of the roller on the newly placed FABC so that when the rolling is finished, the FABC shall be consolidated to the density consistent with the requirements of the current NJDOT specifications and be 1/4 inch higher than the existing and/or surrounding pavement. In the event that the 1/4 inch higher pavement could cause drainage problems, the exact elevation of the patch FABC shall be as approved by the Township Engineer.
(h) 
All edges shall be sealed with the same material used for tack coat, such as rapid curing cutback asphalt, grades RC70 or RC-T or approved equal.
E. 
Violations and penalties. Any person violating Subsection D of this section shall, upon conviction, pay a penalty of not less than $500 for each violation. Every day in which a violation exists shall constitute a separate violation, with the minimum penalty as heretofore described. The maximum penalty shall be as is otherwise provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, Penalty, § 1-3 of this Code.
[Amended 12-30-1985 by Ord. No. 85-37; 4-23-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-14]
F. 
Backfills in tunnels. In cases where it becomes necessary to resort to tunneling operations to reach the point of connection with the main line, the backfill in such tunnel shall be of rammed cement concrete composed of a mixture by volume of one part cement to six parts of coarse aggregate material not inferior to cinders.
G. 
Special conditions. The township reserves the right to impose special conditions in special cases.
H. 
Whenever any road opening shall require the closing of a road or the disruption of any utilities, 72 hours advance notice of such opening shall be provided to the Township Engineer.
[Amended 9-27-1982 by Ord. No. 82-44]
I. 
Indemnification of Township. Each permittee shall, as a condition of accepting any permit issued hereunder, save, hold and keep harmless and indemnify the Township, its officers, agents, servants and employees from and against any loss, damage, claim, demand or expense arising out of any suit or claim for damage or injury alleged to have been sustained as a result of any work done under such permit.
[Added 4-23-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-14]
J. 
Insurance. No permit shall be issued until the applicant has furnished the Engineer with satisfactory proof that he/she is insured against injury to persons and damage to property caused by any act or omission of the applicant, his/her agents, employees or subcontractors done in the course of the work to be performed under the permit. The insurance shall cover all hazards likely to arise in connection with the work, including, but not limited to, collapse and explosion, and shall also insure against liability arising from the completed operations. The limits of the insurance shall be $300,000 for injury to any one person, $500,000 for injuries to more than one person in the same accident and $300,000 for property damage for a single incident. The governing body may waive the requirements of this subsection for public utilities on the presentation of satisfactory proof that they are capable of meeting claims against them up to the amount of the limits of the insurance policy which would otherwise be required. The insurance required by this section shall name West Windsor Township as additional certificate holder and additional insured.
[Added 4-23-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-14]
K. 
Acceptance of work. Acceptance or approval of any excavation work by the Township Engineer shall not prevent the Township from asserting a claim against the permittee and his/her or its surety under the surety bond required hereunder for incomplete or defective work, if discovered within 12 months from the completion of the excavation work. The Township Engineer's presence during the performance of any excavation work shall not relieve the permittee of its responsibilities hereunder.
[Added 4-23-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-14]
[Amended 12-17-1982 by Ord. No. 82-57; 4-19-1999 by Ord. No. 99-07]
The Township Engineer may make any rules and regulations which he or she considers necessary for the administration and enforcement of this article, but no regulation shall be inconsistent with, alter or amend any provision of this article or impose any requirement which is in addition to those expressly or by implication imposed by this article. No regulations shall be effective unless they are approved by the Mayor. Copies of all current regulations shall be furnished each permittee at the time of the issuance of the permit.
[Amended 12-27-1982 by Ord. No. 82-57]
The permit holder shall conform to the requirements in the current Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, Part VI, when required by the township to provide barricades and/or signs.
[Amended 12-27-1982 by Ord. No. 82-57; 4-19-1999 by Ord. No. 99-07]
Prior to the issuance of a road opening permit, the applicant shall contact the Township Police Division, Traffic Safety Bureau, for instructions on the traffic safety precautions to be taken.
[Amended 12-27-1982 by Ord. No. 82-57]
Before any street is improved or paved, the Township Engineer shall give notice to all persons owning property abutting on the street and to all public utilities and authorities operating in the township that the street is about to be paved or improved. All connections and repairs to utilities in the street shall be completed within 30 days from the receipt of notice. The time for the completion of the work may be extended, in writing, by the Township Administrator upon application by the person performing the work. This section shall not excuse any person from the requirement of obtaining a permit as provided in § 152-7 above.
[Amended 12-27-1982 by Ord. No. 82-57]
Except in case of an emergency, no person to whom notice was given as provided in § 152-14 above shall be issued a permit to excavate the street to which the notice related for a period of five years from the date of completion of the work for which the permit has been issued unless its issuance is approved by the Township Council.
[Added 11-16-1998 by Ord. No. 98-30]
A. 
Relocation required. When at any time, the township determines that it would be in the interest of the public welfare to make improvements to public streets and sidewalks where overhead utility lines exist and said improvements would require excavation of the public street or sidewalk, the Council may require said utilities to relocate the existing overhead wires to underground conduits at the expense of the utility.
B. 
Notice and hearing. The municipality shall provide written notice to a utility at its place of business no less than 10 days prior to a hearing to be held regarding the matters of improvement of the public way in question and the need for utility relocation to underground. Subsequent to such hearing, the Council, by resolution, may order said utility company to relocate its overhead wires to underground conduits at its own expense.
C. 
Relocation plan. No less than 30 days prior to the date of excavation to improve a public way is to begin, the utilities obligated to relocate their overhead wires to underground conduits shall submit a plan to the Township Engineer for said relocation, showing the exact location and dimensions of the underground conduit, together with a statement giving detailed and complete information as to the character of the work to be performed. Such plans and statements shall remain permanently on file in the office of the Township Engineer.