[Adopted 12-31-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-37 as
§ 26-1 of the 2001 Code]
No person shall cut, dig, drill or make any
hole, trench or other excavation in any road, street, alley, highway
or other public way, under the jurisdiction of the Township, without
first having obtained a permit from the Municipal Clerk.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any road with a macadam or stabilized base and bituminous
concrete surface or an oiled penetration surface.
Macadam base or gravel base, primed and surface treated.
Any cinder, dirt or gravel road without oil treatment and
any other road in the jurisdiction of Robbinsville Township.
That length or width deemed necessary for replacement by
the Township Engineer or Township Road Supervisor.
Will be considered to be three feet longer than the trench
length.
Will be considered to be four feet.
An applicant for a permit shall make written
application in which he/she shall state:
A.
The name of the street where the opening is to be
made.
B.
The house number, if any, and the Robbinsville Township
Tax Map lot and section number of the property.
C.
The purpose for which the opening is to be used.
D.
The nature of the surface in which the opening is
to be made.
E.
The probable dimensions of the opening.
F.
The time when the work is to be commenced and completed.
Upon the filing of a valid application, together
with the permit fee required by this article, the Municipal Clerk
shall issue a permit. The permit shall state the identity and address
of the applicant, the name of the street and location where the opening
is to be made, the dimensions of the opening and the period during
which the permit shall be valid.
Any municipal corporation or authority or joint
municipal authority or public utility corporation may file an application
with the governing body requesting permission to file a bond in lieu
of the fees herein prescribed. Such applications may be granted by
the Township in cases where the applicant is deemed capable of properly
restoring the street surface and foundation and where it is deemed
impracticable for the applicant to pay separate fees for each application
when a substantial number of openings are contemplated. Such bond
shall be in an amount to be determined by the governing body, shall
be issued by a bonding company or a surety company, or a corporation
approved by the governing body, and shall be conditioned upon the
restoration of the surface and foundation of any street for which
an opening permit is granted, in a manner acceptable to the governing
body. Such bond may be accepted to cover such number of separate applications
by the same applicant as shall be determined by the governing body
and shall remain in force for a period to be determined by the governing
body. Upon approval of such application by the governing body and
approval of such bond by the Township Attorney as to form, sufficiency
and execution, the Municipal Clerk is authorized to issue permits
for the work so approved without the payment of the aforesaid fees.
In all cases where such bond is accepted in lieu of such fees, the
surface and foundation of the street for which a permit is issued
shall be restored at the expense of the applicant in accordance with
the requirements of this article and any other applicable Robbinsville
Township ordinances. 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 upon receipt of billings
from the Municipal Clerk.
All permits issued under this article shall
be subject to the following regulations:
A.
Guarding and minimizing interference. Each street
opening shall be properly guarded and shall have sufficient lights
around it to give adequate warning during the hours of darkness. All
work done under any permit shall be done in such a manner as to cause
a minimum of interference with travel along the street affected. No
street shall be closed to traffic unless specific permission therefor
has been granted by the Township Engineer and Township Police Department.
B.
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.
C.
Extensions of time limit. Upon application being made
therefor, the governing body may extend the time during which any
permit shall be valid for such period as the governing body shall
deem it advisable. In no event will the permit be extended beyond
a one-year period.
D.
Interference with sewers. No work for which a permit
is issued hereunder shall be conducted in such manner as to interfere
with any storm sewer or sewer line, or any connection from either
of the same to any building, unless specific permission to interfere
with such storm sewer or sewer line is obtained in advance from the
Township Engineer.
E.
Pavement cutting. All pavements shall be cut by mechanical
means so as to provide for a clean, straight cut. Prior to permanent
restoration, the permittee shall trim all pavement edges back in order
to provide for a clean straight-cut line.
F.
Backfilling. All excavations shall be completely backfilled
by the permittee and shall be compacted by tamping or other suitable
means in a manner prescribed by the Township Engineer. When the Township
Engineer determines that the excavated material is unsuitable for
backfill, the permittee shall backfill the excavation with selected
backfill material, which shall be placed in layers not exceeding six
inches in depth and thoroughly compacted in the manner prescribed
by the Engineer. On completion of the work, the permittee shall remove
any excess material and leave the premises in a clean condition. If
the Township Engineer determines that any backfilled excavation has
settled or caved in, he/she shall notify the permittee, who shall
promptly continue backfilling until the Engineer determines that settlement
is complete.
G.
Temporary pavement. The permittee shall, immediately
upon backfilling and compaction of the trench, place a two-inch layer
of FABC-1 bituminous stabilized base course or equivalent. If conditions
warrant, in the opinion of the Township Engineer, the permittee shall
place four inches of one-and-one-half-inch road stone as a base material
prior to placing the bituminous stabilized base or equivalent. The
permittee shall maintain the condition and grade of the temporary
pavement at all times until the placing of permanent paving. The temporary
pavement shall remain in place approximately three months or as directed
by the Engineer.
H.
Permanent restoration. The temporary pavement shall
be removed to the depth of approximately seven inches below the adjacent
road surface. All edges shall be trimmed as required prior to placing
the permanent pavement. All surfaces of existing pavements, casings
and structures should be tack coated with asphalt oil. The permittee
shall then place five inches of bituminous stabilized base course
in one layer, compacting the material to a grade of two inches of
FABC-1 surface course to the level of the adjacent pavement.
I.
Shoulder restoration. The permittee shall, immediately
upon backfilling and compaction of the trench, place an eight-inch
layer or one-and-one-half-inch road stone to the level of the existing
shoulder surface. The trench shall be maintained and kept to the existing
shoulder grade by the addition of road stone as required.
J.
Driveway openings. The permittee shall replace all
driveways under the requirements of pavement or shoulder restoration
specifications depending upon the type of the original pavement.
K.
Lawn areas. The permittee shall sod or seed, as directed
by the Township Engineer, all lawn areas disturbed during the construction
operation.
L.
Tunneling. In the event that tunneling operations
shall be required to reach the point of connection with any main line,
the backfill in any such tunnel shall consist of rammed cement concrete
composed of a mixture of one part of cement to six parts of coarse
aggregate material not inferior to cinders.
M.
Acceptance of excavation 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 24 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.
N.
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 $100,000
for injury to any one person, $300,000 for injuries to more than one
person in the same accident and $100,000 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.
A.
Whenever the governing body enacts any ordinance or
resolution providing for the paving or repaving of any street, the
Municipal Clerk shall promptly notify, by certified mail, return receipt
requested, each person owning any sewer, main, conduit or other utility
in or under the street or any real property, whether improved or unimproved,
abutting the street. Such notice shall notify such persons that no
excavation permit shall be issued for openings, cuts or excavations
in the street for a period of five years after completion of paving.
Such notice shall also notify such persons that applications for excavation
permits, for work to be done prior to such paving or repaving, shall
be submitted promptly in order that the work covered by the excavation
permit may be completed not later than 45 days from the date of receipt
of notice. The Municipal Clerk shall also promptly mail copies of
such notice to the occupants of all houses, buildings and other structures
abutting the street for their information and to state agencies and
Township departments or other persons that may desire to perform excavation
work in the Township street.
B.
Within 45 days every public utility company receiving
notice as prescribed herein shall perform such excavation work, subject
to the provisions of this article, as may be necessary to install
or repair sewers, mains, conduit or other utility installations. In
the event that any owner of real property abutting the street shall
fail within the 45 days to perform such excavation work as may be
required to install or repair utility service lines or service connections
to the property lines, any and all rights of such owner or his/her
successors in interest to make openings, cuts or excavations in the
street shall be forfeited for a period of five years from the date
of completion of paving. During that five years, no excavation permit
shall be issued to open, cut or excavate in the street unless, in
the judgment of the Township Engineer, an emergency exists which makes
it absolutely essential that the excavation permit be issued.
C.
Every Township Department or official charged with
responsibility for work that may necessitate any opening, cut or excavation
in the street is directed to take appropriate measures to perform
such excavation work within the forty-five-day period so as to avoid
the necessity for making any openings, cuts or excavations in the
new pavement in the Township street during the five-year period.
D.
During the five-year period, no excavation permit
shall be issued to open, cut or excavate in the street unless, in
the judgment of the Township Engineer, an emergency exists or, in
the judgment of the Board of Health of Robbinsville Township, a health
emergency exists requiring a connection to water or sewer facilities
which makes it absolutely essential that the excavation permit be
granted.
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 has not requested an extension
of time, the Township Engineer or Road Supervisor may, if he/she deems
it advisable, take steps to backfill the trench and replace a permanent
pavement over the opening for which the permit has been issued, and
if any extension of time beyond the date is needed for the completion
of the work, a new application must be filed and a new fee paid.
The governing body may revoke any permit for
noncompliance with any provision of this article. In any special case,
the governing body may by resolution impose special conditions to
which the issuance of the permit shall be subject, or the governing
body may in any case deem by resolution that any provision of this
article shall not apply or shall be altered.
