[Adopted by Ord. No. 82-198 (Sec. 19-1 of the 1996 Revised
General Ordinances)]
[Amended by Ord. No. 85-198a]
No person shall dig up, break, excavate, tunnel,
undermine or in any manner break up any street, Township road, right-of-way,
sidewalk or curbing, or make or cause to be made any excavation in
or under the aforementioned areas for any purpose nor place, deposit
or leave in any of the aforementioned areas any earth or other excavated
material obstructing or tending to interfere with the free use of
same unless such person shall first have obtained an excavation permit
therefor from the Township Clerk as hereinafter provided. The requirements
of this article shall govern any persons, firms or corporations in
any work within right-of-way or confines of any roadway within the
territorial limits of the Township.
[Amended by Ord. No. 84-198a]
No excavation or driveway permit under this
article shall be issued unless a written application for the issuance
of such permit is submitted to the Township Clerk, signed by the person
making the application or by a duly authorized agent, and shall contain
the following information:
A.
Name and address of the person for whom the work is
to be performed.
B.
Name and address of person performing the work.
C.
Location of the work area.
D.
An outline or plan describing the work to be performed.
E.
Number of square yards of surface to be opened, or
in case of a driveway, the square yards of surface to be installed.
F.
Cubic content of material to be excavated.
G.
Type of surface to be removed.
H.
Cubic content of material to be removed.
I.
Date and time of commencement and estimated date of
completion.
J.
The amount of material to be placed in the case of
a driveway.
K.
The types of proposed traffic control devices to be
utilized for the projects, the devices to be in conformity with the
guidelines set forth in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices,
current edition.
When the Township shall improve or pave any
street, the Township Clerk shall first give notice to all persons
owning property abutting on the street about to be paved or improved,
and to all public utilities and authorities operating in the Township,
and all such person, utilities, and authorities shall make all connections
as well as any repairs thereto which would necessitate excavation
of the street, within 30 days from the giving of such notice. The
time shall be extended if permission is requested in writing and approved
by the Township Engineer.
A.
No permit shall be issued by the Township Clerk to any person given notice under § 372-6 which would allow an excavation or opening in a paved or improved street surface less than three years old unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that public health or safety required that the proposed work be permitted or unless an emergency condition exists.
B.
If a permit is issued in accordance with the above emergency conditions, the permittee shall be required to repave 1/2 of the roadway width in accordance with the standards in § 372-9, Construction requirements and regulations, for the entire length of the trench, or 50 feet, whichever is greater.
[Added 4-20-2020 by Ord. No. 20-011; amended 9-14-2020 by Ord. No. 20-029]
[Amended by Ord. No. 84-198a]
A.
Every opening and all excavations, backfilling or
grading shall be done by the person to whom any permit is issued.
Such person shall give 72 hours notice to the Township Engineer prior
to the commencement of work.
B.
All work shall be done in such a manner as to cause
a minimum of interference with travel on the street affected. No street
shall be closed to traffic unless the closing is approved by the Chief
of Police. Streets and/or traffic lanes closed to traffic must be
closed and then reopened at the time specified on the application,
with no deviation permitted. The Police Department shall be informed
of all street closings at least 24 hours in advance, except where
the work is of an emergency nature, notice shall be given to the Police
Department when work commences.
A.
Whenever an opening is made in a paved road, the surface
pavement shall be cut with a pavement cutter no wider than one foot
outside of the proposed excavation.
B.
All pavement openings for which any permit is granted
under this article shall be replaced by the permittee by a temporary
pavement of a bituminous concrete Type A, immediately after filling.
Permanent pavement is to be restored by permittee, not less than 30
nor more than 60 days after opening is made, unless this time is extended
by the Township Engineer, depending on the road and weather conditions.
C.
In the event that the proposed excavation or opening
is to extend across the entire width of a public street, no more than
1/2 of the travelled road surface shall be opened at any one time
and such half shall be backfilled before the other half is opened.
No excavation shall remain open after the hour of 5:00 p.m. nor over
any weekend or holiday unless special permission has been granted
by the Township Engineer.
D.
Warning signs and flagmen; closing of streets.
(1)
The excavation and all piles of excavated material
or any stored material to be used in the work to be performed shall
be carefully marked with barriers complete with appropriate warning
signs for the traveling public. Barriers, warning signs, warning lights
shall conform to the requirements of all applicable state statutes
and municipal ordinances; warning lights shall be electrical marker
or flasher type used to indicate a hazard to traffic from sunset of
each day to sunrise the next day. The permittee shall take appropriate
measures to assure that during the performance of the excavation work,
traffic conditions as near as normal as possible shall be maintained
at all times so as to minimize inconvenience to the public and to
the occupants of the adjoining property, and to assure the passage
of emergency vehicles including first aid, fire and police. During
the hours of actual operation, construction, excavation or other work
at the site, the permittee shall maintain and have in attendance at
least one flagman who shall be responsible for the flow of traffic
to assure safe passage of vehicles in both directions and to avoid
traffic hazards during the use of heavy equipment.
(2)
When traffic conditions permit, the Chief of Police
or his duly authorized representative may, by written approval, permit
the closing of the streets to all traffic for a period of time prescribed
by him, if in his opinion it is necessary. Such written approval shall
require that the permittee give notification to various public agencies,
first aid and fire companies and to the general public. In such cases,
such written approval shall not be valid until such notice is given.
Warning signs shall be placed far enough in advance of the construction
operations to alert traffic within a public street, and cones or other
approved devices shall be placed to channel traffic, in accordance
with the instructions of the Chief of Police of the Township.
E.
Permittee
shall maintain safe crossings for two lanes of traffic at all intersections
where possible and safe crossings for pedestrians at intervals of
not more than 300 feet. If any excavation is made across any public
street, or sidewalk, adequate crossing shall be maintained for vehicles
and for pedestrians in writing by the Chief of Police to close the
same.[1]
F.
The permittee shall not interfere with any existing
facility without the written consent of the Director of Public Works,
the owner of the facility, and/or the Department of Public Works,
Division of Utilities. If it becomes necessary to relocate an existing
facility, this shall be done by its owner. No facility owned by the
Township or any authority shall be moved to accommodate the permittee
unless the cost of such work be borne by the permittee. The cost of
moving a privately owned facility shall be similarly borne by the
permittee unless it makes other arrangements with the person or persons
owning the facility. The permittee shall support and protect by timbers
and otherwise all pipes, conduits, poles, wires and other apparatus
which may be in any way affected by the excavation work, and do everything
necessary to support, sustain and protect them under, over, along
and across the work. The permittee shall secure approval of method
of support and protection from the owner of the facility in case any
of the pipes, conduits, poles, wires or apparatus should be damaged,
and for this purpose, pipe coating or other encasement of devices
are to be considered as part of a substructure, the permittee shall
promptly notify the owner thereof. All damaged facilities shall be
repaired by the agency or person owning them and the expense of such
repairs shall be charged to the permittee. It is the intent of this
subsection that permittee shall assume all liability for damage to
facilities and any resulting damage to or injury to anyone because
of such facility damage and such assumption of liability is a contractual
obligation of the permittee. The only exception will be such instances
where damage is exclusively due to the negligence of the owning utility.
The Township shall not be made a party to any action because of this
section.[2]
G.
Placement of excavated materials.
(1)
All material excavated from trenches and piled adjacent
to the trench or in any street shall be piled and maintained in such
manner as not to endanger those working in the trench, pedestrians
or users of the streets, and so that as little inconvenience as possible
is caused to those using streets and adjoining property. Where the
confines of the area being excavated are too narrow to permit the
piling of excavated material beside the trench, the Township Engineer
shall have the authority to require that the permittee haul the excavated
material to a storage site and then rehaul it to the trench site at
the time of backfilling. It shall be the permittee's responsibility
to secure the necessary permission and make all necessary arrangements
for all required storage and disposal sites.
(2)
All material excavated shall be laid compactly along
the side of trench and kept trimmed so as to cause as little inconvenience
as reasonably possible to vehicular and pedestrian traffic, or as
specified by the Director of Public Works. Whenever necessary, in
order to expedite the flow of traffic or to abate the dirt of dust
nuisance, toe boards or bins may be required by the Township Engineer
to prevent the spreading of dirt into traffic lanes.[3]
(3)
Any and all material excavated and stored or piled
at or near any intersection, driveway or other access roads or alleys
shall be so stored and piled as to provide an adequate line of sight
for those persons entering and exiting the intersecting streets, alleys
or driveways, which line of site shall provide a minimum of one-hundred-fifty-foot
visibility.
H.
As the excavation work progresses, all streets shall
be thoroughly cleaned of all rubbish, excess earth, rock and other
debris resulting from such work. All cleanup operations at the location
of such excavation shall be accomplished at the expense of the permittee
and shall be completed to the satisfaction of the Director of Public
Works. From time to time, as may be ordered by the Director of Public
Works, and in any event, immediately after completion of the work,
the permittee shall, at his or its own expense, clean up and remove
all refuse and unused materials of any kind resulting from the work,
and upon failure to do so within 24 hours after having been notified
to do so by the Director of Public Works, the work may be done by
the Director of Public Works and the cost thereof charged to the permittee,
and the permittee shall also be liable for the cost thereof under
the surety bond provided hereunder.[4]
[Added 4-26-2004 by Ord. No. 04-014]
The permittee shall restore the surface of all
streets broken into or damaged as a result of excavation work in accordance
with the following rules, regulations and requirements:
A.
Once the excavation work area has been properly backfilled
and compacted, the pavement shall be saw-cut and removed a minimum
of six inches on each side of the excavation to expose undisturbed
subgrade. Excavations less than two feet from the curbline will require
removal of the existing pavement for the excavation to the curbline.
All edges shall be prepared with tack coat.
B.
The permittee shall install no less than six inches
of bituminous stabilized base course, Stone Mix No. I-2, to the surface
of the excavation.
C.
All excavations shall be allowed to settle for no
less than 90 days and no more than 180 days. During this time period,
the permittee shall be responsible for maintaining the surface of
the excavation.
D.
The permittee shall remove the bituminous stabilized
base repair to a depth of 1 1/2 inches below the surface of the existing
street by milling. The milling limits should be at least one foot
beyond the base repair. The milled area shall be treated with tack
coat and paved with a minimum of 1 1/2 inches of bituminous concrete
surface course, Stone Mix No. I-5.
E.
In streets constructed of cement concrete with a bituminous
concrete overlay, pavement shall be replaced with equivalent concrete
and bituminous pavement, thickness to match existing. Replacement
of the cement concrete with bituminous concrete is not permitted.
[Amended by Ord. No. 85-198a; Ord. No. 87-322]
A.
The applicant, in accepting a permit under this article,
shall be deemed to have agreed to be liable for, and to indemnify
and save harmless the Township from and against any and all loss or
costs or damages incurred by reason of any damage to any property,
injury to any person or any loss of life resulting from his negligence
or the negligency of his agents or employees in undertaking or performing
the work covered by the permit, or in failing to properly guard or
maintain the opening or excavated material, equipment, or materials
to be incorporated in the work.
B.
Construction work will be permitted only during the
hours and times specified on the application. Emergency situations
or work required beyond the times permitted must be approved by the
Director of Public Works.[1]
C.
Streets and traffic lanes to be closed to traffic
must be closed and then reopened at the time specified on the application
with no deviations permitted.
D.
Construction equipment shall not be positioned or
stored on any street after working hours unless approved by the Traffic
Safety Division of the Manchester Police Department.
E.
Police protection.
(1)
When a contractor is obligated to supply uniformed
police officers on the job site, as a condition of his permit, all
arrangements shall be made through the Watch Commander of the Manchester
Police Department, who shall assign the officers in advance of the
commencement of work on the project.[2]
(2)
Uniform police officers assigned by the Manchester
Police Department shall be only during the regular duty hours and
not as additional duty or overtime during off-duty hours. Contractor
shall compensate the Township pursuant to the existing off-duty contract
in existence between the Township and PBA for each officer assigned
to traffic control duty to cover all necessary costs and expenses
of administration and salaries.
[Amended 4-26-2004 by Ord. No. 04-014]
F.
Flagmen, when utilized in construction work areas,
shall be certified flaggers and shall be equipped according to the
current edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
[Amended 6-14-2010 by Ord. No. 10-012]
The Township may, at any time, revoke or annul
any permit, or extension endorsed thereon for cause, or for performing
work not in accordance with the permit granted, or for failure or
neglect to pursue the work in accordance with such permit or for any
conditions which might prove to be dangerous or injurious to any person
or interests of the Township. Every person receiving a permit or any
extension thereof shall accept the same subject to the foregoing provisions,
without any liability or responsibility attaching to the Township
for any loss or damage that might result by reason of such revocation.
[Amended by Ord. No. 84-198a]
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed
as requiring the issuance of a permit for the performance of any opening
or excavation by the Township or its employees.
Any person aggrieved by any action of the Township
Engineer or Township official in the enforcement of any provisions
of this article shall have the right of appeal to the Township Council.
The appeal must be taken within 14 days after action complained of
has occurred. All appeals shall be made in writing to the Township
Council and shall set forth the reasons for the appeal.
[Amended 4-26-2004 by Ord. No. 04-014]
No permit shall be issued until the applicant
has furnished the Township with satisfactory proof that he is insured
against injury to persons and damage to property caused by any act
or omission of the applicant, his 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 completed operations.
The limits of the policy of insurance shall be $1,000,000 for injury
to any one person, $300,000 for property damage for a single incident.
In cases where the character or nature of the proposed excavation
work are such as to present an unusual hazard or a higher than normal
risk of damage or injury, the Township Council may require increased
amounts of liability and property damage insurance.
[Amended by Ord. No. 84-198a; Ord. No. 94-232; Ord. No. 01-003; 4-26-2004 by Ord. No. 04-014; 4-14-2014 by Ord. No. 14-007]
Accompanying each application shall be the sum of $100, which shall be deemed the fee for the application and the opening, and the sum of $250, which shall be deemed the inspection fee. Also, the applicant shall pay a deposit equal to the estimated cost of filling in and patching the excavation as determined by the Director of Public Works, which shall not be less than $500. The deposit shall be either refunded or forfeited as hereinafter set forth. The person making the application and who paid the fee shall be responsible and liable for the satisfactory filling in and patching of the excavation. When, and if, the completed work is performed and approved as above stated, then and in such event the applicant shall be entitled to the refund of the deposit. The applicant, however, shall forfeit the deposit if it becomes necessary for the Township to restore the street to its preexisting condition should the permittee fail to do so as required by § 372-10.
[Added 4-26-2004 by Ord. No. 04-014;
amended 6-14-2010 by Ord. No. 10-012]
If an individual repair deposit required by § 372-16 exceeds $1,000 or if the aggregate of the repair deposits which any applicant expects to be required to provide within a period of one year exceeds $5,000, or if the applicant be a public utility regulated by the federal government and/or the State of New Jersey, then the Township may allow the portion of the required repair deposit in the form of a surety bond. If a surety bond is provided in accordance with the requirements of this article, the applicant shall deposit with the Township Clerk a surety bond in the amount determined by the Director of Public Works made payable to the Township of Manchester. The required surety bond must be:
A.
With good and sufficient surety.
B.
By a surety company authorized to transact business
in the State of New Jersey.
C.
Satisfactory to the Township Attorney in the form
and substance.
D.
Conditioned upon the permittee's compliance with this
article and to secure and hold the Township and its officers harmless
against any and all claims, judgments or other costs arising from
the excavation and other work covered by the excavation permit or
for which the Township, the Township Council or any Township officer
may be made liable by reason of any accident or injury to person or
property guarding the excavation or for any other injury resulting
from the negligence of the permittee, and further conditioned to fill
up, restore and place in good and safe condition as near as may be
to its original condition and to the satisfaction of the Department
of Public Works all opening and excavation made in streets and to
maintain any street where excavation is made in as good condition
for the period of 12 months after said work shall have been done,
usual wear and tear excepted, as it was in before said work shall
have been done. Any settlement of the surface within said one-year
period shall be deemed conclusive evidence of defective backfilling
by the permittee.
[Amended by Ord. No. 84-198a]
Any person who violates any provision of this
article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not
exceeding $1,000; the Municipal Court of the Township of Manchester
shall have jurisdiction.
