[Adopted 6-5-1974 as §§ 13-71 to 13-84 of
the 1974 Code]
All sidewalks shall be constructed or repaired
of material approved by the Board of Selectmen.
No sidewalk constructed within the Town shall
be less than six feet in width on Main Street or less than five feet
in width on any other street.
The line and grade of all sidewalks shall be
as approved by the Board of Selectmen or its properly authorized agent.
Excavations, including the removal of any existing
sidewalk, shall be made to the required depths below the finish grade.
All soft and yielding material shall be removed and replaced with
suitable bank-run gravel.
The gravel base shall be placed not less than
six inches in depth and to such a grade that after compaction it shall
form a true grade at a depth of four inches below the finish sidewalk
grade.
If concrete is the material being used, forms
shall be of metal or wood, straight, free from warp and of sufficient
strength to resist springing from the pressure of the concrete. If
the forms are of wood, they shall be of two-inch surfaced plank, except
that on curved sections thinner material may be used. If the forms
are of metal, they shall be of approved sections and shall have a
flat surface on the top. Forms shall be of a depth equal to the depth
of the concrete, but not less than four inches. The forms shall be
securely staked and braced to hold the required line and grade and
the four inches of concrete and wire mesh reinforcement.
After placing of the concrete, the forms shall
be marked in five-foot increments with a joiner tool, or by the removal
of a steel plate inserted in the forms, and at every twenty-foot interval,
expansion joint material shall be placed prior to pouring. This material
shall be asphaltic, cork or fibre in nature and shall extend in depth
the full thickness of the slab. An alternate method of pour is the
checkerboard method, placing concrete in alternate slabs each day
of pouring.
All concrete shall be air entrained and shall
test 3,000 pounds per square inch (psi), at the end of 28 days. The
concrete shall be mixed in the conventional manner and placed in the
forms in such a manner as not disturb the forms, four inches in thickness.
The surface of the concrete shall be finished
with a wood or rubber float or by other approved means (machine).
The outside edges of the slab and all transverse joints shall be edged
with the proper finishing or edging tool. The finishing shall be accomplished
while the concrete is still in a plastic state, and the adding of
slurry to a hardened surface shall not be permitted.
All finished surfaces shall be covered and kept
in a moist state for a period of not less than 48 hours after finishing,
using a burlap or moisture-barrier material for covering, and for
the purpose of concrete curing and dehydration control.
The sides of all slabs shall be backfilled with
suitable material thoroughly compacted and finished flush with the
sidewalk so that no hazard is presented to the walking public. All
surplus material shall be removed forthwith from the site and the
area left in a neat and presentable condition. All grading and seeding
and any other restoration of existing conditions shall be performed
as necessary.
No steps shall be constructed in a public sidewalk
unless conditions are such that the same cannot be avoided and in
such case only with the specific permission of the Selectmen.
Where any material other than concrete shall
be used for the construction of sidewalks in accordance with the terms
of this article, the Selectmen shall have the power to establish additional
requirements concerning the construction of such sidewalks to ensure
that such sidewalks shall remain safe for pedestrian travel thereon.
Where roadways or driveways occur over sidewalks,
special conditions as directed by the Board of Selectmen or its agent
shall be required of the applicant.
