Town of Groton, MA: Highway Department

§ 246-1 Permit required; fee.

A road-opening permit is required for any excavation or construction of any kind within a public right-of-way or that has an effect on the right-of-way. The right-of-way shall be determined by county layouts or other surveying records. If no layout is found, the right-of-way shall be assumed as a total road width of 33 feet.

The contractor will give to the Town a copy of his liability and workers' compensation certificate. In some cases, a performance bond for an amount set by the Highway Surveyor will be required before the issuance of a permit.

The holder of this permit or any of his designees or other persons shall indemnify and save harmless the Town of Groton against all claims for damages for injuries to persons or property, and against all costs, suits, expenses and losses occurred by anyone or anything related to the conditions in this road opening permit.

Fee.

(1)

A permit fee of $1 per linear foot will be paid to the Town of Groton when the permit is submitted. Permits must be obtained at least 72 hours before the work begins.

(2)

Applicants requesting a waiver of the road opening permit fee must make a written request to the Highway Surveyor, which is subject to the approval of the Board of Selectmen.

Denials for any road opening permit from the Highway Surveyor may be appealed to the Board of Selectmen.

Failure to obtain a permit or comply with the following regulations shall be subject to a fine of 10 times the permit fee but in no case less than $50 or up to $1,000 plus the road opening permit fee.

§ 246-2 Regulations.

Permits will be granted by the Highway Surveyor for all road openings other than emergencies from April 15 to November 15, at which time all excavation will be closed and patched.

All projects requiring digging in the road and/or right-of-way may be required to have a one-hundred-percent performance bond to be held by the Town until the utilities agree that the work has been done to their specifications and the excavated area has settled for one winter's season.

A contractor must provide evidence to the permitting authority that he is qualified to do the work.

The applicant is responsible for notifying Dig Safe and any other local utilities which may be affected.

All required traffic warning devices and signs will be furnished by the contractor and approved by the Highway Surveyor and/or his agent, at no cost to the Town of Groton.

No road opening permit will be issued for a road that has been resurfaced within the past three years, except in the case of an emergency. Request for exemption from this subsection must be made in writing to the Highway Surveyor.

All work will be performed in a professional manner that does not impede the flow of traffic. A police detail will be used in high traffic areas, as designated by the Highway Surveyor and Police Chief or their agents, at no cost to the Town of Groton. All emergency departments must be notified by the permit holder of any work in a public way which impedes the smooth passage of emergency vehicles.

Excavations in the traveled way shall be cut in a straight line with a concrete saw or other accepted manner as approved by the Highway Surveyor and/or his designee that will cut full depth of the pavement. The excavation shall be between these lines.

Backfill shall be done, with flowable fill or mechanically compacted materials in six-inch lifts or jetted with water to within two inches of pavement grade, the last two inches shall be a temporary bituminous patch to be maintained for a minimum of 60 days; then the temporary patch shall be removed and a permanent patch shall be applied in accordance with Subsection S.

If Town water is used for jetting, the Water Department shall be notified, and all costs associated with use of water shall be borne by the contractor.

Backfilling will be done with excavated material unless otherwise directed by the Highway Surveyor. Excess material will be disposed of at the direction of the Highway Surveyor, at no cost to the Town of Groton.

If work proposed will result in more than 50 cubic yards of excess materials, contractor must apply for a certificate of exemption from the Earth Removal Bylaw[1] from the Board of Selectmen prior to commencement of work.

[1]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 134, Earth Removal.

Excavated material will only be placed on the traveled way when it will not impede the flow of traffic. When material is placed on the traveled way, a mechanical sweeper will be on the job to sweep the pavement after backfilling each day.

Driveways, sidewalks, street intersections, shoulders, lawns, shrubs, trees, signs and pavement markings shall be restored to conditions prior to construction, at no cost to the Town. No trees, tree limbs, or brush will be cut without prior approval of the Highway Surveyor.

Catch basins, drainage pipes, sewer manholes, sewer pipes, and all other underground utility structures shall be protected during construction and adjusted to the grade. Any damages to these structures shall be repaired to original working condition at no cost to the Town.

If any utilities are exposed during excavation, i.e., sewer, water, electric, etc., the appropriate department will be notified for the opportunity for an inspection prior to backfilling.

Cross trenches shall be excavated in such a manner as to maintain one lane of passage to traffic at all times. Cross trenches will be patched with bituminous patch immediately after backfilling and compacting.

There shall be no open trenches left in the public right-of-way overnight. Trenches shall be backfilled or plated with steel plates, and warning devices shall be placed to alert motorists of road conditions. At no time shall there be more than 150 feet of open trenches without temporary patches being made.

The bituminous patch in a trench will be the same thickness as the road surface. For example, if there are six inches of hot top on the road, then the patch shall also be six inches. In no case shall hot top placed be less than 2 1/2 inches thick. A cut-back of up to 12 inches on each side of the original cut will be required, so that the patch is placed on undisturbed material when the permanent patch is applied.

All trenches will be left in a safe condition to accept traffic at the end of each day's work. No equipment will be left on the traveled way overnight. Regulatory signs will be replaced daily.

After completion of the work covered by this permit, there will be a surface overlay of bituminous concrete, machine laid, full width of the traveled way, and 30 feet both sides of the excavation at a minimum depth of 1 1/2 inches or at the discretion of the Highway Surveyor. A cash or bank check deposit can be made to the Town of Groton to utilize the Town's contractor for paving. If the paving is to be done by the contractor, a performance bond for the amount of the paving will be required and held by the Town until completion of the work and approval of Highway Surveyor.

Final pavement shall not be placed on any street without a minimum settlement period of one winter's season on the excavated area or with written permission of the Highway Surveyor.

The contractor will be required to repair the permanent trench for a period of one year.

The contractor will be responsible for all miscellaneous expenses. For no reason shall the Town be responsible for any costs incurred from any of the conditions of the road opening permit, including, but not limited to, any costs related to any litigation related to this permit.

All work is to be done between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., and there shall be no work on Saturday, Sunday or holidays, unless approved by all public safety departments.

Town of Groton utility departments are not required to file a permit application for emergency repairs. Any road opening by these Town departments that exceeds 100 feet shall require a permit. The permit fee may be waived.