Except as hereinafter provided, no person shall,
without a permit from the Town Engineer, make any excavation in any
public street or highway owned or maintained by the Town, lay any
pipe, drain, sewer, conduit in or under or place any structure on
any such public street or highway or leave upon, above or under the
surface of any such public street or highway any material or equipment
used or to be used for any of the foregoing purposes.
All permits issued under this Article
IV shall be good for a period of 30 days from the date of issuance, and all work to be done thereunder shall be completed within such period to the satisfaction of the Town Engineer, provided that when, in the opinion of the Town Engineer, such work will require more than 30 days for its completion, he may issue a permit good for any period up to 90 days from the date of issuance, and provided further that the period of any such permit may be extended by the Town Engineer for good cause. Nothing herein contained shall limit the right of the Town Engineer to revoke any such permit at any time for cause.
Whenever, in the opinion of the Town Engineer,
the financial responsibility of the applicant is not sufficient to
enable such applicant to respond in damages to any claim for injury
to person or property arising out of prosecution of the work for which
the permit is sought, he may require that such applicant submit proof
of public liability and property damage insurance with personal injury
limits of not less than $1,000,000 and property damage limits of not
less than $1,000,000. The Town Engineer may increase the amount of
insurance required from time to time as necessary to protect the interests
of the Town.
Whenever, in the opinion of the Town Engineer, the work for which such a permit is granted under this Article
IV may interfere with any installation of an existing municipal storm or sanitary sewer or with any installment of a planned municipal sanitary sewer recommended by the Water Pollution Control Authority, he may require that the location or method of such work be changed to the extent necessary to avoid such interference and that such work be done in the presence of and to the satisfaction of a Town inspector. The reasonable expenses of such inspector shall be borne by the person doing such work.
Any person making any excavation shall erect
and maintain a substantial railing, fence or barrier around the same
and shall keep at and over such excavation a sufficient number of
bright yellow lights to mark the same and to warn pedestrians and
vehicles of its existence, which yellow lights shall be kept burning
from sunset to sunrise until the work involved in such excavation
is completed.
Any person making any excavation shall remove
the pavement or surface of the street or highway with the least possible
damage and shall place all excavated material where it will cause
the least possible inconvenience to the public and, as soon as practicable,
shall fill the hole resulting from such excavation, tamp or puddle
the earth or other material therein in such manner that it will not
settle and, except for the pavement or surface of the street or highway,
shall restore the immediate area thereof to the condition in which
it existed before such excavation was made, all with the approval
and to the satisfaction of the Town Engineer. If any such excavation
shall not be so refilled or if the area thereof shall not be so restored,
the Town Engineer may do such refilling and restoration and charge
the expense thereof against the permittee making such excavation.
Nothing herein contained shall limit the right of the Town Engineer
to allow the permittee to replace the pavement or surface of the street
or highway with similar material in accordance with specifications
approved by the Town Engineer or to require the permittee to replace
the excavated material with such other material as the Town Engineer
may specify whenever such excavated material is, in his opinion, unsuitable
for backfill.
Notwithstanding other provisions of this Article
IV, in any case of an emergency making an immediate excavation essential to the public health and safety, such excavation may be commenced without a permit, but notice of such excavation shall be given to the Town Engineer as soon as practicable after it is commenced and a permit then applied for. Such emergency excavations shall be made as nearly as practicable in conformity with the provisions of this article.
Any person violating any provision of this Article
IV shall be subject to a fine of not more than $99 (or the maximum permitted by state law) or imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both, for each such violation. In addition to any other penalty provided by this Code, in the event of the refusal or neglect of any person to remedy or repair any dangerous or defective condition caused by or resulting from a violation of this article, the Town may remedy or repair the same and may assess the expense thereof against such person.
Nothing contained in this Article
IV shall limit the right of the Water Pollution Control Authority to make regulations respecting connections to municipal sanitary sewers not inconsistent with this article.
The Public Works Department is authorized to
supervise the installation of natural gas pipelines. The Director
of Public Works shall have power to adopt regulations prescribing
standards for the construction of natural gas lines in the public
streets of the Town.