No person, firm or corporation, including public service companies, which for the purpose of this Article are deemed such as the New York Telephone Company, the Long Island Lighting Company, the Suffolk County Water Authority, private (non-municipally owned) water companies and municipal districts, shall make any excavation in any Town street, filed map street, highway or sidewalk in the Town of Smithtown for any purpose without first obtaining a permit therefor from the Superintendent of Highways of the Town of Smithtown as hereinafter provided.
[Adopted 6-6-1967; amended in its entirety 1-19-1989]
A.
Applications, in writing, shall be filed with the Superintendent of Highways upon application blanks which he shall provide or in such other manner as he shall prescribe, which applications shall state the nature, location, extent and purpose of the proposed excavations.
B.
Applications by public service companies, excluding municipal districts, must be accompanied by a general undertaking in such form as may be approved by the Town Board. Said general undertaking is tendered to assure that, after completing the excavation, said applicant leaves the street, highway or sidewalk, pavement, curb or gutter in the same condition it was prior to excavation.
C.
Applications by applicants other than public service companies or municipal districts must be accompanied by a minimum deposit of $300, which is to be deposited with the Comptroller of the Town of Smithtown to assure that, after completing the excavation, said applicant leaves the street, highway or sidewalk, pavement, curb or gutter in a condition to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of Highways. In the event that the applicant fails to repair or replace such pavement, sidewalk, curb or gutter within the time provided in the permit, the Superintendent of Highways will assess the damage and report the same to the Town Board. The Town Board may thereafter order the Comptroller to pay to the Superintendent of Highways, out of the moneys deposited, a sufficient sum of money to repair or replace said street, highway or sidewalk, pavement, curb or gutter or other improvements for a mutually agreed upon sum. In the alternative, the Superintendent of Highways may require such additional improvements as he deems necessary and appropriate for the health and safety of the public and to ensure proper construction procedures on the Town roads and rights-of-way. Where it is estimated that the work will exceed $300, the applicant must make an additional deposit of 10% of the cost of the estimated work in excess of said $300. The Superintendent of Highways, at his discretion, may require a bond for 100% of the estimated cost of the project. Upon completion of said excavation, moneys deposited hereunder are to be returned to the applicant, provided that all or part has not been expended pursuant to this subsection. Notwithstanding the foregoing, bonds will be forfeited if work is not completed to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of Highways within one year of issuance of permit.
[Amended 6-25-2009; 4-9-2019]
D.
Upon compliance with the foregoing requirements, a permit shall be issued in the name of the Superintendent of Highways of the Town of Smithtown, except that no permit shall be issued for an opening on any roadway which has been resurfaced by the Town of Smithtown during a period of three calendar years prior to the application date, except for permits for emergency openings as described in § 245-16.1 below. In the case of a newly constructed or reconstructed roadway, the time period shall be five years. The prohibitions stated in this subsection shall not apply to applications to install new gas connections to residential properties.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 2-2019]
[Added 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 2-2019]
In the event that any pipe, main, conduit or other utility installation in or under any street, alley, sidewalk or public way shall burst, break or otherwise be in such condition as to seriously endanger persons or property, the owner of such sewer, main, conduit or other installation shall immediately contact the Town of Smithtown Superintendent of Highways describing the location of the break, extent of repairs and any emergency measures required to reroute traffic. Upon approval by the Superintendent of Highways, the owner shall immediately remedy such trouble and shall immediately take all such necessary steps to make said location safe and secure. Such owner shall not, however, begin making any permanent repairs to such street, alley or sidewalk until he or she shall have secured a permit as provided above. Such permit shall be applied for within 48 hours after such break or serious trouble shall have developed, and the necessary permanent repairs to the street, alley or sidewalk shall be made as directed by the Superintendent of Highways and shall be completed as soon as practicable after receipt of the permit.
[Amended 2-26-2002; 6-25-2009; 4-9-2019]
Each applicant must pay a permit filing fee pursuant to the Town of Smithtown Highway Department fee schedule set forth in § 245-18 to the Highway Department for each excavation, including those for utility poles. This application filing fee shall cover the processing fee for the initial excavation, i.e., connection to a water main, tapping a gas main or installing a utility pole.
[Amended 4-9-2019]
A.
Town of Smithtown Highway Department fees shall be as follows:
(1)
Road improvement initiation fee: $150 (to be applied to total fee).
(4)
Directional drill: $150 for first 100 feet plus an additional $1 per foot thereafter.
(5)
Test hole/monitoring well: $200 each.
(7)
Sidewalk excavation: $150 for first 100 feet; additional $1 per foot thereafter.
(8)
Curb or curb cut and sidewalk excavation: $150 for first 100 feet; additional $1 per foot thereafter.
(9)
Communication/utility pole install or replacement: $150 per pole.
(10)
Emergency processing surcharge (utilities only): $50 for less than 48 hours' notice.
(11)
Block party: $75 each.
(13)
Permit renewal fee: $150 each.
(14)
Transfer of highway work permit to new permit holder: $150 each.
(15)
Winter bonding: $150 each.
(16)
Encroachment easement: $200 each.
(17)
Heavy or overweight loads (80,000 pounds or more): $250 each.
(18)
Over width loads (more than 10 feet wide): $250.
(19)
Utility cabinet: $500 each.
The applicant shall file with the Superintendent of Highways a general liability insurance policy or certificate of insurance naming the Town of Smithtown as an additional insured at the same time he files his application for a permit. The Town Board shall approve the policy for form. The policy shall insure the Town of Smithtown and the applicant and shall cover all operations relative to the excavation and reconstruction thereto. Said policy shall have limits of liability of $500,000 for bodily injury to each person and $1,000,000 of liability in the aggregate for each accident and property damage of $500,000 for each accident and an aggregate property damage liability of $1,000,000.
The Superintendent of Highways requires any person making an excavation pursuant to the permit granted hereunder to give notice of such excavation to public service companies or municipal districts having lines, mains or other property in the streets, and no work shall be commenced or done under such permit until such requirement of notice has been fully complied with under the rules of the Public Service Commission.
Any person making an excavation covered by this Article shall erect suitable barriers or guards for the protection of persons using the streets and sidewalks and, in addition thereto, shall set up and maintain during the hours of darkness sufficient lights or flares to properly illuminate the area and shall also take precautions for the protection of the property of the Town and of public service companies or municipal districts and others which may be endangered by such excavation or the work incident thereto and shall comply with all directions given by the Superintendent of Highways with respect to such barriers, lights, flares and protective measures.
A.
Commencement of work. Work under the permit shall be commenced within 30 days from the date of permit and continued in a expeditious manner unless extension of this period is approved by the Superintendent of Highways.
B.
Construction.
(1)
When working on any Town road, no pavement cuts or trenches are to be left unfilled overnight, except in emergencies, and in such cases adequate precautions must be exercised to protect traffic.
(2)
When working on any Town road, contractors must complete final backfilling (see Subsection E hereof) of the trench within 18 days from the day of opening.
(3)
All pipes or mains crossing highway pavements shall, wherever possible, be driven beneath the roadway without disturbance to the pavement. The point of driving shall not be less than five feet from the edge of the pavement. Such crossover pipes shall, whenever possible, be enclosed in sleeves or larger pipes so that repairs or replacements may be made in the future without further disturbances of the roadway pavement.
(4)
If the boring method in the driving of crossover pipes is found to be impracticable, the representative of the Highway Department shall be consulted to determine the manner of placing the pipe by the open-cut method. This request is to be made in writing to the Highway Superintendent and may be granted by the Superintendent upon such conditions as he deems necessary and proper under the circumstances.
(5)
The Superintendent of Highways may require that special conditions be met as he deems necessary in conjunction with work performed within the Town right-of-way under this permit. Such special conditions will be made known to the applicant on the permit or attachment thereto.
C.
Excavations: method and type of opening.
(1)
Openings in concrete shall have a minimum width of five feet.
(2)
No roads are to be tunneled, but pipes may be driven or trenched across.
(3)
All openings are to be made either by pinwheel trenching machine or hand labor, unless otherwise specified in the permit.
(4)
Highway pavement is not to be broken or undermined.
D.
Restoration of excavation. Temporary patching. Upon completion of the final backfilling, if final pavement is not to be accomplished within 20 days of opening, the trench will be brought to within two inches of the road level and then paved with two inches of asphaltic concrete within 20 days of opening, which shall be placed as a temporary surface in any pavement opening and shall be maintained to the same grade as any adjacent pavement.
E.
Procedure for final backfilling.
(1)
Clean fill will be used and the trench will be compacted in twelve-inch lifts with either vibratory soil compactors or by suitable hydraulic compaction by water jetting at three-foot intervals.
(2)
Density tests. The applicant shall, at his own expense, have an independent testing laboratory that is acceptable to the Superintendent of Highways perform density tests after the backfilling. The results of these tests shall be presented to the Superintendent of Highways for his approval. The testing shall be performed to 98% of the Standard Proctor Maximum Density before final pavement is installed.
F.
Final pavement replacing.
(1)
Concrete. Minimum size replacements in concrete or asphalt on concrete base shall be 10 by 10 feet, or as directed. In all cases, if the ten-foot-by-ten-foot replacement is within five feet of a joint, the replacement must extend to the joint. Concrete openings shall be saw cuts, and the mix shall be high-early one to one to two and one-half (1:1:2 1/2).
(2)
Asphalt. The trench will be compacted to within five inches of the road surface and the existing asphalt surface shall then be cut back at least 12 inches on either side of the undisturbed subgrade on a straight line. At the discretion of the Highway Superintendent, the contact surfaces, the patched surfaces and/or adjacent pavement edges shall be painted and sealed with approved bituminous and/or bluestone material before or after placing the course of asphalt. The asphalt shall be installed in two lifts at the discretion of the Superintendent of Highways. The base lift shall be three inches of a binder course (Type 3) Standard Specification of the State of New York and a two-inch lift of (Type 7) Standard Specification of the State of New York. This course shall be rolled with an eight- or ten-ton roller, and surface variations in excess of 1/4 inch shall be eliminated or the pavement relaid.
(3)
At the discretion of the Superintendent of Highways, if the temporary patching is not accomplished, final pavement replacing must be completed within 20 days of opening. If temporary patching is accomplished as specified, then final pavement replacing must be completed within 30 days of temporary patching or within such additional time as may be authorized by the Highway Superintendent, at his discretion, upon application.
G.
Shoulder areas. If the trench work is in the earthen shoulder of the roadway, then proper compaction as outlined in Subsection E above will apply, with the addition of a covering of sod or grass seeding as specified by the Highway Department.
H.
Traffic control.
(1)
Maintenance and protection of traffic. Traffic is to be maintained at all times during the progress of work. Adequate signs, barricades and lights necessary to protect the public shall be provided. Flagmen to direct traffic shall be employed continuously during periods when only one-way traffic can be maintained or when equipment is operated back and forth across the pavement area.
(2)
No construction materials or equipment shall be left on the pavement after working hours, nor shall any construction equipment or materials be placed in any manner or location that will obstruct highway or railroad signs.
(3)
Barricades, whether in a sidewalk or roadway area, shall have prominently displayed, for police convenience, the address and telephone number of twenty-four-hour availability of someone who will reestablish the same in an emergency.
(4)
Access to adjacent properties shall be maintained.
I.
Notification. The applicant will be responsible to notify the Highway Department 24 hours prior to street opening and closing.
J.
Preconstruction meeting. The Superintendent of Highways may, at his discretion, require a meeting with the applicant and other involved parties before construction may begin.
A.
Applicants shall notify the Superintendent of Highways when work has been completed, after which an inspection will be made by the Superintendent of Highways or his duly authorized agent, and, upon approval of the work, a release will be granted to the applicant. The Superintendent of Highways may require as part of the release inspection that standard tests be performed by an independent testing agency. The costs of such tests will be the responsibility of the applicant. Until the granting of such release, the applicant shall remain liable for proper guarding and protection as provided in § 235-21. Public utility companies and/or municipal districts shall be responsible for the maintenance of their trenches for a period of five years after the release date for completion of the work.
B.
Upon receipt of notice of completion of applicants, other than public utility companies or municipal districts, and approval of the backfill, the Highway Department will resurface the excavation at the expense of the applicant.
C.
When the project has been completed to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of Highways, a release will be provided to the applicant.
A.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provisions of this Article shall be guilty of an offense punishable by a fine or imprisonment, or both; however, for the purpose of confirming jurisdiction upon courts and judicial officers, such violation shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and for such purposes only all provisions of law relating to misdemeanors shall apply to such violations. In lieu of the foregoing, any person violating any provisions of this Article shall be subject to a penalty in the sum of not more than $500 for the first violation and $1,000 for subsequent violations, such penalties to be recovered in a civil action in the name of the Town of Smithtown.
B.
The application of the above penalty shall not be held to prevent the enforced removal of the prohibited conditions.