[Adopted 4-30-1997 by Ord. No. 132[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Art. II, Obstructions to Township Roads, adopted 5-29-1974
by Ord. No. 30, as amended.
A.
EXCAVATION
STREET
PERSON
The following words, when used in this article, shall
have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except in those
instances where the context clearly indicates otherwise.
Any activity within the right-of-way of any street, alley
or cartway which involves cutting, breaking or disturbing the surface
thereof. In this article, the term "opening" shall have essentially
the same meaning as "excavation."
Any public street, avenue, road, square, alley, highway or
other public place located in Athens Township and established for
the use of vehicles but shall not include state highways.
Any natural person, partnership, firm, association, corporation
or municipal authority.
B.
In this article, the singular shall include the plural
and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
It shall be unlawful for any person to open
or to make any excavation of any kind in any of the streets in Athens
Township without first securing a permit therefor, as hereinafter
provided.
Any person who shall desire to make any opening
or excavation in any of the streets in Athens Township shall make
application to the Permit Officer in writing for that purpose. Such
application shall be made upon blanks to be furnished by Athens Township
and shall set forth the name of the applicant, the exact location
of the proposed opening or excavation, and the approximate size or
depth thereof; and shall contain an agreement on the part of the applicant
that the work shall be done in full compliance with the ordinances
of Athens Township and the laws of the commonwealth in relation thereto;
and that the applicant shall well and truly save, defend and keep
harmless Athens Township from and indemnify it against any and all
actions, suits, demands, payments, costs and charges for or by reason
of the proposed opening or excavation and all damages to persons or
property resulting in any manner therefrom or occurring in the prosecution
of the work connected therewith or from any other matter, cause or
thing relating thereto.
Before any permit shall be issued to open or
excavate any street in Athens Township, the applicant shall pay a
permit fee in the amount fixed according to a schedule established
pursuant to resolution. When application shall be made to open or
excavate any longitudinal opening or excavation in excess of 10 feet,
before any permit shall be issued so to open or excavate, the applicant
shall pay, in addition to such minimum fee, an additional fee at a
rate, for each 100 feet or fraction thereof to be opened or excavated
upon such street, pursuant to the fee schedule.
Permits shall be issued only to persons furnishing
public utility services or to the owner or owners of the real property
adjoining the location where such opening or excavation is to be made.
Any permit issued hereunder shall specify the
exact location where the opening or excavation is to be made, the
approximate permitted size or depth thereof and the time within which
the work for which the permit is granted to be completed.
A permit may be issued to the applicant after
all the requirements therefor have been filed. If the application
is disapproved, written notice of disapproval, together with reasons
therefor, shall be given to the applicant.
The work authorized by the permit is subject
to all provisions of the Act of December 10, 1974, P.L. 852, No. 287,
§ 1 et seq.,[1] as amended or supplemented from time to time. It shall
be the permittee's responsibility to contact the utilities that have
recorded their facilities in compliance with said Act. A partial list
of utilities providing service in Athens Township and their office
addresses may be obtained from the County Recorder of Deeds.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 73 P.S. § 176
et seq.
Any person who shall open or excavate any street
in Athens Township shall thoroughly and completely refill the opening
or excavation in such a manner as to prevent any settling thereafter
and shall restore the surface to the same condition as it was before
the opening or excavation, and such restoration shall be in accordance
with the specifications of the Department of Transportation of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania which are hereby adopted as specifications
of Athens Township for restoration of surfaces of streets in Athens
Township as restored; the surface shall conform to the proper grade
and be of the same surface covering as the part of the thoroughfare
immediately adjoining the opening. If within two years after the restoration
of the surface as herein provided defects shall appear therein resulting
from defective backfilling by the applicant, the applicant shall reimburse
Athens Township for the cost of all necessary repairs to the permanent
paving.
All other work in connection with openings in
any street, including excavation, protection, refilling and temporary
paving, shall be done by or for the person to whom or which the permit
has been issued, at his or its expenses, and all such work shall be
subject to the provisions of this article and to the supervision and
approval of the Permit Officer, provided that the Permit Officer may,
if he deems it necessary to the proper performance of the work, require
that cutting of the surface of streets and the backfilling of all
excavations therein shall be done by Athens Township, in which event
the applicant shall pay the actual cost of the work performed by Athens
Township.
A.
No opening or excavation in any street shall extend
from the curbline into the highway a distance greater than one foot
beyond the center line of the street before being refilled and the
surface of the highway restored to a condition safe and convenient
for travel.
B.
No more than 500 feet longitudinally shall be opened
in any street at any one time.
C.
The work of excavation shall be so conducted as not
to interfere with the water mains, sewers or their connections with
the houses or any other subsurface lines or constructions until permission
of the proper authorities in connection with such subsurface lines
or constructions shall have been obtained.
D.
No tunneling shall be allowed without the express
approval of the Permit Officer and permission therefor endorsed upon
the permit. The backfilling of a tunnel excavation shall be made only
in the presence of the Permit Officer or an inspector designated by
him and shall be done only in a method approved by him.
E.
All openings or excavations shall be backfilled promptly
with modified 2A stones and thoroughly compacted in layers, each of
which layers shall not exceed eight inches in depth. Backfilling shall
be placed to within 10 inches of the surface.
F.
A temporary paving of coldpatch premix, thoroughly
bound and compacted, shall be installed flush with the surface of
the adjoining paving and maintained for period of 90 days.
G.
On concrete base streets, such base shall be replaced
with concrete and the minimum size of the opening or excavation shall
be 16 square feet.
H.
During the making of any excavation in the street,
every necessary and reasonable precaution shall be taken by the applicant
and the parties making the same to keep the street in a safe and passable
condition, both day and night, by guards, barriers, lanterns and other
devices, and all excavating permits granted hereunder are granted
under and subject to the express condition that the person to whom
the same is issued shall indemnify, save and keep harmless Athens
Township from any loss in damages, or otherwise whatsoever, which
may or shall be occasioned at any time by said excavation or by any
leak, explosion or other injury from any pipe, apparatus, conduit
or any other matter placed in said excavation.
I.
The applicant shall notify the Permit Officer when
the opening or excavation is ready for backfilling before any backfilling
is done, when backfilling work is completed, when the temporary paving
has been installed and when the street has been permanently restored
so that inspections may be made.
J.
In the event that any work performed by or for a permit
holder shall, in the opinion of the Permit Officer, be unsatisfactory
and the same shall not be corrected in accordance with his instructions
within the time fixed by him, or in the event that the work for which
the permit was granted is not completed within the time fixed by the
Permit Officer, Athens Township may proceed to correct such unsatisfactory
work or complete any such work not completed and charge the cost thereof,
plus 20%, to the applicant.
In the case of any leak, explosion or other
accident in any subsurface pipe, line, construction or apparatus,
it shall be lawful for the person owning or responsible for such pipe,
line, construction or apparatus to commence an excavation to remedy
such condition before securing a permit, provided that application
for a permit shall be made immediately and not later than the next
business day thereafter and that all other provisions of this article
are fully complied with. If any such emergency condition shall not
be immediately attended to by the owner or person responsible for
such pipe, line, construction or apparatus, the Permit Officer, after
such notice as he shall deem necessary under the circumstances of
the particular case, shall proceed to do the work necessary and required
by such emergency and charge the same on the basis of cost, plus 20%,
to such owner or person.
The permission herein granted does not confer
upon the owner or its contractors the right to cut, remove or destroy
trees or shrubbery within the legal right-of-way except under specification,
regulation and conditions as Athens Township may prescribe.
The Permit Officer shall give timely notice
to all persons owning property abutting on any street within Athens
Township about to be paved or improved and to all public utility companies
who shall make all water, gas or sewer connections, as well as any
repairs thereto which would necessitate excavation of said street
within 30 days from giving of such notice, unless such time is extended
in writing for cause shown by the Permit Officer. New paving shall
not be opened or excavated for a period of five years after the completion
thereof, except in cases of emergency, the existence of which emergency
and the necessity for the opening or excavating of such paving to
be determined by the Permit Officer. If it is sought to excavate upon
or open a sewer within five years after the completion of the paving,
the applicant shall make written application to the Board of Supervisors,
and a permit for such opening shall be issued only after express approval
of the Board of Supervisors.
If at any time in the future the roadway is
widened or reconstructed or the alignment or grades are changed, the
permittee further agrees to change or relocate all or any part of
the structures covered by this permit which interfere with the improvement
of the roadway, at its own cost and expense.
No new water, steam or gas main or electric,
telephone or other utility line shall hereafter be laid or constructed
and no such existing main or line shall be extended in any of the
streets of Athens Township until the plan therefor shall have been
first filed with the Permit Officer. The Permit Officer shall not
approve the locating of any such main or line at a depth of less than
30 inches from the surface of the street unless he shall be convinced
that locating the same at a depth of more than 30 inches from the
surface is impossible or impractical.
No company, corporation or association shall
dig up any street or alley without first giving to Athens Township
a bond with some acceptable trust or surety company as surety in the
sum determined by the schedule of fees, conditioned for the faithful
performance of these provisions and also for any and all damages,
claims, demands, suits, costs and counsel fees occasioned or arising
from digging up, opening or closing of said streets and alleys.
Payment for all work done by Athens Township
under the provisions hereof shall be made by the persons made liable
therefor under the provisions hereof within 30 days after a bill therefor
is sent to such person by Athens Township. Upon failure to pay such
charges within such time, the same shall be collectible by Athens
Township by an action in assumpsit or in the manner provided by law
for the collection of municipal claims.
A.
Drilling, boring, driving or tunneling across improved
area. Drilling, boring, driving or tunneling across improved areas
shall comply with the following conditions as well as the remainder
of the article.
(1)
When crossing under an improved area, the opening
for a utility facility shall be drilled, bored, driven or tunneled
a minimum depth of three feet from the surface to the top of the opening.
(a)
If the facility or its casing is 30 inches or
greater in diameter, the bored cylindrical space surrounding either
an uncased facility or a facility casing shall be filled with grout
in a manner authorized by the district office.
(b)
Jet or other nonmechanical boring methods are
prohibited. Water may be used under low pressure only to cool the
drill bit and to facilitate removal of cuttings from the bore opening,
if retrievable liquid is immediately removed from the boring pit.
(2)
No openings for the purpose of placing utility facilities
or other structures under the improved area by drilling, boring, driving
or tunneling may be made closer than three feet to the edge of the
shoulder, unless the permit authorizes a lesser clearance.
(3)
A facility or other structure crossing under the improved
area shall be constructed to assure the safety of the traveling public
and to preclude the necessity of entering upon the improved area to
effect future maintenance or replacement.
B.
Trenching across the improved areas. Trenching across
an improved area may be performed only when specifically authorized
by the permit, in accordance with the following:
(1)
The top of every utility facility shall be installed at least 30 inches beneath the surface, except as provided in § 136-22.
(2)
Trenching across the improved area may be authorized
by the permit where drilling, boring, drilling or tunneling are:
(a)
Not feasible because:
[1]
The subsurface is solid rock, as documented
with satisfactory evidence, such as drill records, or where boring
was attempted without success.
[2]
There are other facilities located longitudinally
under the improved area and their location precludes methods other
than trenching, as documented with a detailed plan.
[3]
Adjacent development in a very congested urban
area makes the construction of a tunneling or boring shaft impossible.
(3)
When trenching is authorized by the permit, the trenching
operation shall be performed by one of the following methods:
(a)
Utility facility placed in one piece across
the highway.
[1]
Traffic shall be routed over 1/2 of the pavement
ditch.
[2]
The closed half of the pavement shall be opened
to the required depth and bridged with steel plates.
[3]
Traffic shall be shifted to the restored half
of the pavement.
[4]
The remaining half of the pavement shall be
opened to the required depth, the facility placed and the trench backfilled
and restored in accordance with this section.
[5]
The remaining half of the pavement shall be
opened to the required depth.
[6]
The facility shall be placed full width.
[7]
The open trench shall be backfilled and restored
half-width in accordance with this section.
[8]
Traffic shall be shifted to the restored half
of the pavement.
[9]
The bridging shall be removed and the remaining
half of the trench shall be backfilled and restored in accordance
with this section.
(b)
Utility facility placed in more than one piece
across highway.
[1]
Traffic shall be routed over 1/2 of the pavement
width.
[2]
The closed half of the pavement shall be opened
to the required depth, the facility placed and the trench backfilled
and restored in accordance with the provision of this section.
[3]
Traffic shall be shifted to the restored half
of the pavement.
[4]
The remaining half of the pavement shall be
opened to the required depth, the facility placed and the trench backfilled
and restored in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(4)
The permittee shall protect its openings to provide
for the safety of the traveling public, including motorists, bicyclists
and pedestrians.
(5)
The permit may authorize depths less than 30 inches
which are not capable of operating more than 30 inches below the surface.
C.
Openings parallel to the highway. Requirements for
openings parallel to the highway are as follows:
(1)
A utility facility shall be placed outside the pavement
and shoulder unless there is no feasible space outside the pavement
and shoulder for placing the facility, in which case occupancy within
the pavement or shoulder may be authorized by the permit.
(2)
The top of a utility facility shall be installed at
least 30 inches beneath the surface.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions
of this article shall be guilty of a civil violation. The Permit Officer
shall determine in each case whether a violation has occurred under
this article. Upon determining that a violation has occurred, the
Permit Officer shall impose a civil penalty of not less than $300
and not more than $600 upon the violator.
The provisions of this article shall not apply
to laying sidewalks or curbs.
