[Adopted as Ch. XI of the 1975 Municipal
Code; amended in its entirety at time of adoption of Code[1]]
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation to disturb, tear up, obstruct, damage or destroy any city
road in any manner whatsoever, by any vehicle of any kind or by any
drag attached thereto or by any other implement or appliance.
As used in this Article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any and all roads, highways, streets, avenues or alleys owned
or under the control of the City of Salem for the full width thereof.
No person, firm, partnership or corporation
shall open or dig a trench in any public road, street, highway, avenue
or alley of this city without having first done each of the following:
A.
Made a written application therefor to the city, on
forms to be provided by it, and supplied four copies of a map or sketch
of the project.
C.
Given the city cash or surety company bond, in the amount specified by § 189-21, to guarantee that the opening or trench made by the permittee will be properly closed. Upon completion of the work in a satisfactory manner, the performance bond or cash will be released in return for a maintenance bond or cash to guarantee that the opening or trench will remain in good condition for at least one year after the closing by the permittee. The minimum amount of each maintenance bond shall be 25% of the amount of the performance bond but shall not be less than $500. A utility company may, in lieu of giving a separate performance bond and a separate maintenance bond on each project, keep continuing effect and posted with the City Clerk a combination performance and maintenance bond for $10,000 by the permittee and a surety company licensed to do business in New Jersey, which bond shall guarantee both performance and maintenance by the utility company in regard to street openings as required by this chapter and shall be approved as to form by the City Attorney.
D.
Received from the city a written permit for the specific
opening.
No person, firm, partnership or corporation
shall direct or cause any employee, agent or contractor of such person,
firm, partnership or corporation to open or dig a trench in any public
road, street, highway, avenue or alley until a written permit for
such opening has been issued by the city.
Each permittee shall do each of the following
things with respect to each opening for which the permittee is responsible:
A.
Have the opening dug promptly after the permit aforesaid
is granted.
B.
Have the material which is taken from the opening
placed so as not to interfere with public use of the highway.
C.
Have proper and ample guards, barricades, signs and
lights maintained on the site to sufficiently warn users of the road,
street, highway, avenue or alley of the dangers attendant to the projects
from the time the opening work commenced until the time the opening
is completely restored and completely reopened to public travel.
D.
Assume full liability for any and all injuries caused
by the negligence of the permittee or the employees or agents of the
permittee in constructing such opening as well as in its maintenance
or closing.
E.
Keep said opening open a minimum period of time to
accomplish the purpose of the permittee and close such opening as
soon as possible thereafter.
F.
Comply with the following standards hereby adopted
in this city for such openings in public roads, streets, highways,
avenues and alleys:
(1)
Protection for traveling public. The permittee shall
keep such opening properly guarded and at night have lights placed
thereat and, in doing the work, interfere as little as possible with
the travel along the road and open no greater part of the road at
any time than shall be allowed by the City Street Superintendent and/or
City Engineer.
(2)
Protection from suits. The permittee shall indemnify
and save harmless the City of Salem, its officers and servants from
and against any loss, injury or damage resulting from any negligence
or fault of the permittee, his agents or servants in connection with
the performance of the work covered by the permit.
(3)
Time limit. The opening shall be backfilled and semipermanently
patched immediately, and the pavement shall be restored within two
weeks. In case the work has not been completed before the day of expiration
as shown on the permit and the permittee has not requested and received
a written extension of time, the City Street Superintendent and/or
City Engineer may, if deemed advisable, take steps to backfill the
trench and replace a permanent pavement over the opening for which
the permit has been issued, the entire cost of which shall be the
responsibility of the permittee. If any extension of time beyond said
date is needed for the completion of the work, a new application must
be filed, if required by the City Engineer.
(4)
Maintenance. The restoration at the opening shall
be maintained for one year after acceptance of the opening restoration
by the City Engineer.
(5)
Excavation.
(a)
The applicant shall give a forty-eight-hour
notice to the City Street Superintendent and City Engineer or his
or her duly authorized assistant prior to making an opening, except
in case of emergency.
(b)
No opening shall be commenced on a Saturday,
Sunday or holiday, except in case of emergency.
(c)
On a bituminous-surface-treated road, the edges
of the opening shall be cut straight through the bituminous surface
before the opening is excavated.
(d)
The work shall be conducted as not to interfere
with the water, sewer or gas mains or any connections with buildings
until permission of the proper authorities shall have been obtained.
All rock within five feet of a water main or other pipe which will
be damaged thereby shall be removed without blasting. No excavation
which will damage trees shall be made without the approval of the
City Engineer.
(6)
Backfilling. The permittee shall completely backfill
the excavation and replace as great a portion as possible of the material
excavated, compacting it by using mechanical tamping equipment, and
supply additional material when there is a deficiency. Whenever the
City Engineer or his duly authorized representative shall deem the
material unsatisfactory for backfill, the permittee shall backfill
the trench with select backfill material, Zone 3, compacted, and shall
remove all excess material from the premises. The material shall be
placed in layers not exceeding six inches in thickness, moistened
where and as directed and each layer mechanically tamped until thoroughly
compacted.
(7)
Restoration of surface paving and surface paving foundation.
After the backfilling of the opening has been completed as above specified,
the restoration of the pavement shall be governed by the following
applicable rules:
(a)
In the case of an opening in the earth shoulder,
the permittee shall restore the top four inches of the trench or opening
with material capable of supporting the growth of grass and shall
fertilize and seed the surface with grass seed.
(b)
In the case of a gravel pavement, the permittee
shall fill in the top 12 inches of the excavated opening with compacted
state-approved I-5 road gravel.
(c)
In the case of a penetration macadam road which
consists at broken stone of various sizes, the permittee may salvage
the broken stone and replace it in the top of the opening similar
to the original pavement and cover it with two inches of hot-mixed
bituminous concrete.
(d)
In the case of a gravel-based bituminous concrete
road, the permittee shall restore the surface with eight inches of
compacted state-approved, I-5 road gravel covered with two inches
of bituminous stabilized base, mix I-2 and two inches of FAB-1, mix
5, top pavement or surface and base similar to existing road, whichever
is greater.
(e)
In the case of a bituminous-treated-gravel road,
the permittee shall restore the surface with 12 inches of compacted
state-approved, I-5 gravel covered with two inches of FABC-1, mix
I-5.
(f)
In the case of a concrete surface, the permittee
shall construct a concrete foundation and shall restore the reinforcement
and the concrete pavement as directed by the City Engineer.
(g)
In the case of any special condition, the permittee
shall restore the opening as directed by the City Engineer. In any
case, if the city is required to restore the pavement, the final charges,
based on the schedule of costs, shall be billed to the permittee on
the completion of the work by the city.
A.
Each applicant for a permit for such opening shall
post a cash or surety company bond with the city to cover the estimated
costs of closing the particular opening for which the application
is being made, according to the schedule of estimated costs as from
time to time may be set by the Council of the City of Salem.
B.
Each such surety bond shall be executed by the permittee
as principal therein, and the surety company shall be the surety therein,
which surety company shall be one licensed to do business in the State
of New Jersey.
C.
Upon completion of the project by the permittee and the restoration of the public road, street, highway, avenue or alley in accordance with this Article, the permittee shall receive back his said performance bond upon proper written application therefor and upon approval thereof by the City Council and upon posting of the maintenance bond or cash described in § 189-18C.
A.
A schedule of fees, from time to time, may, by resolution
of the City Council, be fixed, determined and established as being
the fees to be paid the city for the issuance of permits and for other
municipal services in connection with the servicing of such permits
and the proper restoration of such openings and trenches.
B.
Such fees shall accompany the applications when filed
with the city or its representative.
Unless otherwise specified by the Council, the
City Engineer shall be the agent and representative of this city to:
A.
Receive all applications, fees and bonds hereunder.
B.
Inspect the sites of the proposed openings.
C.
Inspect openings, warning guards, barricades, signs
and lights maintained or to be maintained at the respective sites
by the permittee.
D.
Inspect the closing of openings and the restoration
of public roads, streets, highways, avenues and alleys.
E.
Notify the permittee or the city, or both, of any
failure, refusal or neglect on the part of permittee or his employees
or representatives to comply herewith.
F.
Make complaint of and prosecute for and on behalf
of the city any offense under this Article.
G.
Administer the provisions of this Article for and
on behalf and in the name of this city, under the direction of and
for the City Council.
H.
Inspect the opening at the end of the maintenance
period and report any discrepancies. Upon receipt of a favorable report
with respect to the condition of the opening from the City Engineer,
the City Council shall discharge the maintenance bond or return the
cash deposit, as the case may be.
Nothing in this Article shall be understood
or construed by any permittee or other person to absolve any permittee
or his employees, agents or contractors of any responsibility for
any damage done to any person or property in opening or digging a
trench in any public road, street or highway.
[Amended 7-20-2020 by Ord. No. 20-06]
Any person violating this article shall, upon conviction, be
subject to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $2,000; or imprisonment
in the county jail for a term not exceeding 90 days or by a period
of community service not exceeding 90 days. Any person who is convicted
of violating this article within one year of the date of a previous
violation of the same article and who was fined for the previous violation,
shall be sentenced by a court to an additional fine as a repeat offender.
The additional fine imposed by a court upon a person for a repeated
offense shall not be less than the minimum or exceed the maximum fine
fixed for a violation of the article, but shall be calculated separately
from the fine imposed for the violation of the article.
