This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Street
Openings and Excavations Ordinance of the City of Rahway." Pursuant
to applicable statutes of the State of New Jersey, and more particular
to N.J.S.A, 40:67-1 et seq., the time, manner in which and terms upon
which a person shall exercise any privilege granted to them in the
use of any street, highway, alley or public place or in digging up
those same for laying down rails, pipes, conduits or for any other
purpose whatever shall be as described by this article.
For the purposes of this article, the following words, terms
and phrases shall have the meanings respectively given herein. The
word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely discretionary.
APPLICANT
Any person, company or entity making written application
to the City of Rahway for an opening or excavation permit.
CITY ENGINEER
The City Engineer of the City of Rahway or their designee.
EMERGENCY
Any unforeseen circumstance or occurrence, the existence
of which constitutes a clear and immediate danger to persons or properties.
EXCAVATION WORK
The excavation, removal, digging, disturbing, replacement, repair, construction, tunneling or taking up any surface, pavement, stone or soil and improvements within the rights-of-way or public properties of the City of Rahway. For the purpose of this article, that work which is being performed outside the public rights-of-way, but requires the storage of materials or the operation of equipment within the public right-of-way, in such a manner as may cause damage, will also be deemed "excavation work." The term "excavation work" shall not include work by persons exempted from the provisions of this article under §
365-40.9.
IMPROVEMENTS
Curbs, sidewalks, driveways, driveway aprons, drainage and/or
utility service structures, conduits, pavements, base courses, gutters,
retaining walls, channels, headwalls, railings, guardrails, or any
other private or public improvements existing within the City's rights-of-way,
properties, lands or easements.
PERMITTEE
Any person who has been granted, and has in full force and
effect, a street opening permit issued hereunder, and also includes
any person that is required to secure a permit for excavation work
from the City of Rahway.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
entity, or public or private organization of any kind.
STREET
Any street, roadway, highway, alley, cul-de-sac, avenue,
public easement, public way, public right-of-way, or public grounds
in the City of Rahway.
Prior to commencement of work, the permittee shall furnish the
City Engineer satisfactory evidence in writing that said permittee
has in force and will maintain in force during the performance of
the excavation work and the period of the excavation permit public
liability and property damage insurance for the protection of the
applicant, the City and its agents and employees from any and all
claims for personal injury, including accidental death, and property
damage. The insurance shall be in minimum amount of $250,000 to $500,000,
and bodily injury in a minimum amount of $100,000 and duly issued
by an insurance company authorized to do business in the State of
New Jersey. In cases where the contractor or nature of the proposed
excavation work are such as to present an unusual hazard or a higher-than-normal
risk of damage or injury, the City Engineer may require the provision
of increased amounts of liability and property damage insurance.
The applicant, in accepting a permit under this article, agrees
to enter into a written agreement with the City so as to save, defend,
and keep harmless the City from and indemnify it against any and all
actions, suits, demands, payments, losses, costs, damages, and charges
incurred by reason of any damages to property, injuries to persons,
or any loss of life resulting from any negligence of the applicant,
his agents, servants or employees, contractors or subcontractors occurring
in the performance of the work covered by the permit or from any other
matter, cause or reason relating thereto.
Unless otherwise directed by the City Engineer, the following
specifications shall govern the backfill in excavated trenches:
A. All openings shall be restored below grade with backfill consisting
of bank run gravel or suitable excavated material and shall be tamped
in twelve-inch layers with a mechanical tamper.
B. All material not suitable for backfill and all excess backfill material
shall be removed from the site and legally disposed of by the permittee.
C. If required by the City Engineer, all openings may be required to
be backfilled with flowable fill.
Unless otherwise directed by the City Engineer, upon completion of the opening and backfill as specified in §
365-40.6, the following specifications shall govern the maintenance and repair of street openings by the permittee.
A. Roadway pavement openings shall temporarily restored with backfill per §
365-40.6 to within 12 inches of below existing surface. The remainder of the trench shall be filled with six inches of Dense Graded Aggregate, and six inches of NJDOT hot mix asphalt base course material and tamped and/or rolled with the minimum capacity of a five-ton roller. This temporary restoration shall remain in place for a minimum of four weeks. The trench shall be maintained to the existing grade by the addition of additional hot mix asphalt base course material as required until permanent restoration takes place.
B. No permittee shall commence permanent restoration on any street foundation
or surface until the City Engineer has determined that settlement
of the subsurface is complete and the area properly prepared for permanent.
C. The final restoration shall include neatly saw cutting the edges
of the existing pavement to a minimum depth of six inches with a pavement
saw or pneumatic cutting tool. The saw cut shall be located 12 inches
beyond the excavation on all sides. The edges of the existing pavement
shall be tack coated. Four inches of NJDOT hot mix asphalt base course
material and two inches of hot mix asphalt surface course material
shall be installed and rolled with a minimum capacity five-ton roller
and meet the existing, adjacent grades with smooth transition and
no bumps.
D. All roadway materials shall be manufactured to comply with the current
edition of New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Standard
Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction, as amended.
E. It shall be the responsibility of the permittee to maintain the temporary pavement restoration to the existing grade by the addition of hot mix asphalt base course material during the period prior to permanent pavement restoration work. Should the permittee fail to maintain such pavement opening, and upon 24 hours' notice by the City Engineer, the opening may be repaired as specified by the City, and the cost thereof deducted from deposits received in §
365-37.
F. Unless otherwise directed by the City Engineer, if the application
for street opening permit requires excavation work and/or improvements
within a concrete street or concrete street with an asphalt overlay,
the concrete portion of the road shall be replaced with Class B concrete,
six inches thick with welded wire reinforcement fabric. The concrete
shall be doweled into the concrete surfaces adjacent to same. Concrete
work shall have a minimum compressive strength of 4,000 pounds per
square inch after 28 days.
G. Driveway openings shall be replaced with the appropriate material
and in compliance with the City's specifications for driveways. Driveway
aprons constructed within the City's right-of-way and adjacent to
public sidewalk shall be at minimum Class B concrete, six inches thick
with welded wire reinforcement fabric. Sidewalk openings shall be
replaced with Class B concrete, four inches thick. Concrete work shall
have a minimum compressive strength of 4,000 pounds per square inch
after 28 days.
H. Where concrete curbing and/or gutters are disturbed, damaged or removed,
curbing and gutters of the exact configuration as the existing shall
be constructed. Concrete shall be Portland cement concrete, air-entrained,
conforming to the New Jersey Department of Transportation Standard
Specifications for Class B concrete and shall have a minimum compressive
strength of 4,000 pounds per square inch after 28 days.
I. All restoration work shall be performed to maintain and restore appropriate
drainage abilities, and without damage or impairment of the City's
stormwater control measures and facilities.
All provisions of this article, except §§
365-33,
365-34,
365-35,
365-36,
365-37, and
365-39 shall apply to state, county or municipal authorities and to contractors performing work in City streets under construction contracts with municipal authorities, and such contracts shall contain provisions and specifications to ensure compliance with this article.
Street openings or excavations may be made without obtaining a written permit as provided herein in cases of emergency which would reasonably appear to endanger public health or safety. In such emergencies, adequate precautions shall be taken as provided in §§
365-40.1 through
365-40.6. Immediate notice thereof shall be communicated to the City Engineer, Police Department, and Fire Department. Notification of the emergency opening shall be provided to the City Engineer within 24 hours following the initial opening. The twenty-four-hour notification shall be made via email (engineering@cityofrahway.com, telephone (732-827-2176), fax (732-680-1375) or overnight mail (1 City Hall Plaza, Rahway, NJ 07065). The formal application for a permit shall thereafter be made the next business day or within a period of 48 hours following the initial opening whichever occurs first. Compliance with all the provisions of this chapter shall be met.
Any person that shall violate any of the provisions of this
article shall, upon conviction of same, be subject to a fine of up
to $500 or imprisonment of up to 90 days, or both, for each offense,
and, in addition thereto, shall be subject to a fine of up to $250
per day from the date of such conviction until such time as said violation
has been corrected.