[Adopted 10-10-1974 by Ord. No. 74-4; amended in its entirety 12-14-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-01]
This article shall be cited to as the "Upper Frederick Township Street Opening and Excavation Regulations."
No opening, cutting, excavating, boring or disturbance of any kind upon, in or under any portion of a road or any road right-of-way; no gas pipe, water pipe, electric conduits, cable conduits or other piping, nor any railroad or street railway crossing, shall be laid upon or in; nor shall any drain, culvert, footpath, drive or driveway or other means of ingress or egress be graded, constructed, installed or erected onto or in; nor shall any telephone, telegraph or electric light or power poles or any other obstruction be erected upon or in, nor shall any railroad or street railway hereafter be constructed upon any portion of a road or within any road right-of-way located in the Township; except under such conditions, restrictions and regulations relating to the installation and maintenance thereof, as may be prescribed in the ordinances, rules and regulations of the Township, and permits granted by the Township for such purposes.
The application for a permit shall be on a form prescribed by the Township and submitted to the Township in triplicate. The Township Engineer shall be responsible for review and administration of the permit. The application shall be accompanied by a fee in accordance with the Schedule of Fees set forth by the Township of Upper Frederick for street opening permits; charges shall be made payable to "Upper Frederick Township." In addition, the applicant shall submit three copies of a sketch showing the location of the intended facility, width of the traveled roadway, right-of-way lines, an address, and a dimension to the nearest intersecting road or other nearby landmark, so as to be able to easily ascertain the location of the work.
[Amended 11-18-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-05]
The permit application shall be approved or denied within 10 calendar days of submission of the application to the Township. If the application and required documents do not conform to the requirements of this article and applicable ordinances, rules and regulations, the Township Road Foreman shall deny the application, in writing, stating the reasons therefor. If the Township Road Foreman is satisfied that the proposed work conforms to the aforesaid requirements, the Township Road Foreman shall issue a permit.
At least three working days prior to the proposed start of work, the applicant, or its representative, shall contact the PA One-Call System at 1-800-242-1776, report the proposed work, obtain a serial number and provide such serial number to the Township. No work shall begin until such date and time as authorized by PA One-Call.
At least one lane of traffic shall be maintained at all times. The applicant shall comply with the provisions of PennDOT Publication 203, "Work Zone Traffic Control."
Under extremely unusual circumstances, the Township may allow a road to be closed and traffic to be detoured. No road shall be closed without giving the Township at least 72 hours' prior notice to allow time to notify 911, police, fire departments, emergency services and school districts. No road shall be closed without the applicant submitting a detour plan to the Township Engineer and having it approved by the Township. No road shall be closed without proper detour signs, as approved by the Township Engineer, having been installed by the applicant. All detour signs shall be maintained for the entire work period.
All proper erosion control measures shall be taken to ensure compliance with applicable laws. If necessary, the applicant shall obtain erosion and sedimentation control plan approval from the Montgomery County Conservation District prior to starting work.
The applicant shall comply with all OSHA safety requirements and procedures, including, without limitation, all enclosed space requirements. All trenches over five feet in depth shall be shored or protected with a trench box.
The applicant shall notify the Township 24 hours in advance of starting work and upon completion of temporary restoration and permanent restoration.
All backfill within the Township right-of-way shall be 2A crushed stone of optimum moisture content. There shall be a minimum six inches of bedding under the pipe or utility line. Crushed stone backfill shall be mechanically compacted in maximum six-inch lifts. Where work is done outside the paved cartway or shoulder, the last six inches of backfill shall be topsoil.
If the work cannot be completed in one workday, proper barricades, flashing lights, steel plates or other methods shall be used to secure the site and insure the safety of travelers on the roads in the Township until the next work day.
The work area shall be swept clean, cleaned of debris and otherwise policed at the end of each workday and at the end of the project. Mud shall not be tracked onto the streets at any time. All mud shall be cleaned up within one hour of verbal or written notice from the Township or its agents. All loads shall be tarped.
Conduits and pipes shall be installed with a minimum of 18 inches of cover. In no case shall conduits or pipes be allowed to be placed in or be permitted to bond to asphalt pavement.
The last two inches of the excavation shall be backfilled with compacted "cold patch" or similar permeable asphalt material to allow percolation of water into the excavation while preventing dust and stone chip nuisances. All excavations shall be temporarily restored prior to allowing traffic on them. All settlement shall be brought back to grade within four hours of verbal or written notice from the Township or its agents. The temporary restoration shall remain in place for a minimum of two months to allow for final settlement to occur through the actions of rain and traffic, but, in no case, shall it remain in place more than four months. The person who was issued the permit shall send a postcard to the Township indicating the date of completion of the temporary restoration.
All ragged or broken edges and undermined areas shall be saw-cut straight; the minimum cutback shall be one foot, and the minimum depth shall be 8 1/2 inches. Permanent restoration shall match existing thicknesses and materials, except in the case of asphalt paving, where the minimum requirements shall be five inches of Superpave Base Course, two inches of Superpave Binder Course and 1 1/2 inches of Superpave Wearing Course. All edges shall be sealed a minimum of 12 inches wide with PG64-22 liquid asphalt. All nonpaved areas shall be restored with six inches of topsoil, seeded and strawed. The person who was issued the permit shall send a postcard to the Township indicating the date of completion of the permanent restoration.
All excavations shall be marked after temporary restoration. The following information shall be included on the permit application: name of applicant, exact date of restoration, and emergency telephone number to be called in case of problems, day or night.
[Amended 11-18-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-05]
All work shall be guaranteed for a period of one year from the date of final inspection and certification by the Township Road Foreman that the work has been completed in accordance with the permit. All defects shall be corrected by the applicant within 30 days of verbal or written notice from the Township or its agents.
At the time of permit application, the applicant shall provide the Township with a security deposit or performance bond for the full cost of the work. The amount of the security deposit or performance bond must be reviewed and approved by the Township Engineer and the Township Solicitor prior to being accepted by the Township. This security shall be held by the Township until the end of the one-year guarantee period, and shall be used by the Township as liquidated damages in case of default or nonperformance by the applicant.
No utilities, except for transverse laterals, shall be placed in the planting area between the face of the curb and the sidewalk, or within five feet of the edge of cartway or paved shoulders. This area is reserved for Township use for storm sewers, traffic signs, streetlights, etc.
In the case of longitudinal openings, excavation will not be permitted in streets unless the applicant agrees to overlay the full width of the side of the street being excavated with 1 1/2 inches of wearing course. In the case of transverse crossings, the overlay shall extend a distance of 100 feet on either side of the excavation. Overlays shall be placed within one week of permanent restoration of the excavation. The applicant shall contact the Township Engineer for complete requirements and associated construction details.
Potentially hazardous combinations of utilities, such as water/sewer and gas/electric, shall be separated by a horizontal distance of 10 feet.
As part of the permit application, the applicant shall provide the Township with an insurance certificate in a minimum amount of $1,000,000. The certificate shall name the Township and Township Engineer as additional insureds. In addition, the applicant shall indemnify and hold harmless the Township, and shall assume the defense and all costs of lawsuits and awards.
In the case of emergencies threatening property or lives, the applicant may proceed with the work after notifying the Township, the Fire Company and 911. The applicant shall still be responsible for applying and obtaining the permit and satisfying all requirements as outlined in this article. The application shall be made within 24 hours of the verbal or written notice to the Township, the Fire Company and 911. If the emergency occurs over a holiday, a weekend or at night, the application shall be filed the morning of the next working day.
In addition to the requirements of this article, all work is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations. While the Township has made every effort to be comprehensive with the requirements of this article, those areas not covered in this article, but outlined in PennDOT "Chapter 459, Occupancy of Highways By Utilities," most recently revised, are required with the issuance of a street opening permit.
Any person or utility which shall violate or permit the violation of the provisions of this article shall, upon being found liable therefor in a criminal enforcement proceeding, pay a fine of not more than $1,000, nor less than $25, together with court costs and reasonable attorney fees, and may be incarcerated for a period not exceeding 90 days. Such fines, costs, attorney fees and incarceration, after being reduced to a final, unappealed judgment, shall be enforced by the Township pursuant to the applicable rules of criminal procedure. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate violation.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
PERSON
Any natural person, municipal authority, corporation, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, firm, association and any other entity of whatever type.