Township of Maplewood, NJ Permits and Standards for Construction of Sidewalks and Curbs

All sidewalks and curbs constructed within the Township shall meet the following minimum construction requirements:

Sidewalks.

Concrete. The sidewalk must be a minimum of four feet wide and constructed as follows: The sidewalk shall consist of a monolithic mixture of concrete, developing a compressive strength of 4,000 psi at 28 days and dense graded aggregate or three-quarter-inch stone four inches thick to be placed for bedding. The concrete shall be air-entrained concrete in which the amount of entrained air shall not be less than 3% or more than 6%; NJDOT Class B mix (NJDOT Standard Specifications, 2001, Sections 605 and 607). As soon as possible without marring, the finished sidewalks shall be covered with wet burlap, cotton mats, straw or plastic and kept moist for three days or longer, if directed. As an alternative, where practical, clear membrane seal coats may be used, which at the end of three days will retain the concrete at least 85% of the original mixing water. The sidewalk must be of a monolithic construction and no plastering on top will be allowed. Maximum expansion joint spacing shall be eight feet and tooled joints shall be every four feet and placed up against all existing concrete and between curb and sidewalk.

(2)

Concrete brick pavers.

(a)

The concrete paver sidewalk must be a minimum of four feet wide and constructed as follows: Precast concrete pavers shall be of standard size, approximately four inches wide by eight inches long by 2.25 inches thick, and reasonably uniform in size and shape, with a minimum compressive strength of 8,000 psi and a water absorption maximum of 5%. Concrete pavers shall exceed the standards of ASTM C-936-82.

(b)

The brick paver sidewalk must be constructed as follows: Brick pavers shall be solid units of standard size, approximately four inches wide by eight inches long by 2.25 inches thick and reasonably uniform in size and shape, with a minimum compressive strength of 16,600 psi and a water absorption maximum of 5%. Brick pavers shall meet the standards of ASTM C902-01, Class SX, Type I, Application PS.

(c)

The pavers shall be laid on a base consisting of clean stone dust 1.5 inches thick on top of densely graded aggregate (3/4 inch quarry process stone) six inches thick, compacted and rolled. The pavers are to be set to the correct position and grade with a rubber mallet. All cuts of the pavers are to be made to an even and straight line with a Carborundum disk wet saw. After all the pavers are in position, sweep mason's sand over the surface completely, then use a plate compactor to tamp the pavers to a uniform level. Two or three passes of the compactor will bring the pavers to their final level. Make sure you tamp in both directions. After each area of pavers is compacted, clean mason's sand is to be sandswept in all directions into the intermittent joints between the pavers. Do not allow vehicle traffic on paved surface until sweeping is completed. As directed by the Township Engineer, a four-inch to seven-inch (driveway areas) concrete and four-inch gravel, dense graded aggregate or three-quarter-inch stone base shall be provided in addition to the requirements above.

Curbs.

(1)

Concrete.

(a)

The curb must be constructed as follows: The curb shall consist of a monolithic mixture of concrete, developing a compressive strength of 4,000 psi at 28 days. The coarse aggregate used shall be bluestone. The concrete shall be air-entrained concrete in which the amount of entrained air shall not be less than 3% or more than 6%. As soon as possible without marring, the finished curb shall be covered with wet burlap, cotton mats or straw and kept moist for three days or longer, if directed. As an alternate, where practical, clear membrane seal coats may be used, which at the end of three days will retain the concrete at least 85% of the original mixing water.

(b)

The depth of the curb shall be 18 inches and it shall be eight inches wide at the bottom with the batter on the street side. The upper street side edge shall be finished with a smooth radius. Expansion joints, 1/2 inch wide, with bituminous cellular-type joint filler, shall be installed at equal intervals not to exceed 20 feet.

(2)

Granite (Belgian) block curb.

(a)

The curb must be constructed as follows: The curb shall be granite blocks between 10 inches and 12 inches in length, set in concrete at least 14 inches deep. Transverse joints between blocks shall be 3/4 inch and filled with cement mortar. The joints shall be struck flush and pointed.

(b)

All driveway and street pavements are to be neat cut by methods approved by the Township Engineer prior to any excavation.