Town of Old Lyme, CT Excavation Within a Town Road Right-of-Way and Public Land

Purpose. The purpose for establishing regulations governing excavation of Town property, including excavation within a Town road right-of-way and public land, is to maintain the physical integrity of existing Town roads and to protect the public from adverse situations that may otherwise endanger their health, safety and welfare.

General. No person, firm or corporation shall conduct work or make improvements of any kind within a Town road right-of-way and public land, including but not limited to clearing, excavating, grading, paving or installation of any utility lines, until an encroachment permit has been obtained from the Director of Public Works or his authorized agent at least 72 hours prior to the commencement of any work, which time frame may be waived in an emergency situation, in which case a permit after the fact is required.

Application. Application for an encroachment permit shall be made on forms provided by the Land Use Department and shall be accompanied by a sketch or drawing showing the proposed work to be done. The sketch or drawing shall be in sufficient detail to facilitate an inspection of the work by Town personnel. The Town Engineer or Director of Public Works may require the submission of detailed plans, specifications and other engineering data with the application when he shall deem it to be necessary. No permits shall be issued unless the application and all drawings conform to the requirements outlined in this section and the attached Standard Detail Drawings.

Application fees, certificate of insurance and performance bond. Application fees, in an amount prescribed on the most current Town Fee Schedule, shall be submitted with all applications. In addition, prior to final approval of the encroachment permit, a certificate of insurance naming the Town of Old Lyme as an additional insured, which shall conform to current Town requirements with respect to the types of coverage and limits of liability, and a performance bond in the amount determined by the Director of Public Works, shall be submitted. No encroachment permit shall be issued until the application fee and any inspection fees have been paid and the certificate of insurance and performance bond received. Furthermore, should the contractor employ any subcontractors, it shall be the contractor's sole responsibility to ensure that all subcontractors provide the types of coverage and limits of liability required by the Town, and the contractor shall not permit any subcontractor to commence any work until they have obtained evidence in the form of a certificate of insurance.

Performance bond. A performance bond shall be provided to the Town of Old Lyme to ensure that all work is completed within a 180-calendar-day period or at the end of any subsequent extension of time granted by the Board of Selectmen or Town Engineer. Performance bonds shall be in the form of a certified check to the Town of Old Lyme given to the Land Use Department, which shall deliver it to the Director of Finance. All such bonds and insurance coverages shall be for a term of at least one year and shall be kept in force continuously until the maintenance provisions hereinafter specified in § 187-74H are satisfied. Evidence of renewal of coverage shall be furnished annually to the Board of Selectmen and Town Engineer. The applicant may request a release of bonds and insurance after completion of any required corrective work following the one-year maintenance period. The contractor shall hold harmless and indemnify the Town of Old Lyme and any of its agents for any and all liability, damages, and costs which may in any manner be incurred by the Town of Old Lyme and its agents by reason of, or in connection with, the issuance of a permit for such excavation, or by reason of any act or omission of the contractor or his agents. Contractors and public service corporations may dispense with the filing of a separate insurance policy for each excavation by filing annually with the Board of Selectmen and the Town Engineer the proper evidence of insurance coverage.

Completion time. All proposed construction work shall be completed within 180 calendar days after the date of issuance of the encroachment permit unless an extension of time is granted by the Board of Selectmen or its designee, upon written request by the owner for such extension, and for good cause shown. Any such extension of time shall be limited to a maximum additional period of 180 calendar days. No extensions of time shall be permitted beyond 360 calendar days from the date of issuance of an encroachment permit.

Inspection. All construction work covered by an encroachment permit shall be subject to the inspection and approval of the Board of Selectmen or its designee or his authorized representative. It is the responsibility of the owner to notify the Director of Public Works at least 72 hours prior to conducting any work. Any work that is not found to be in conformance with the requirements in this section shall be reconstructed as required to conform. Any periodic inspections made by the Director of Public Works or his authorized representative shall be strictly limited to making general observations regarding the progress of the work and general conformance of the work with the provisions of these Design and Construction Standards. In making these inspections, neither the Director of Public Works nor his authorized representative shall have authority over, or responsibility for, the means, methods, techniques, sequences or procedures of construction selected by contractors; for supervision, direction and control over contractors' work; for safety precautions and programs incident to the work of contractors; for enforcing any requirements with respect to safety precautions and programs incident to the work of the contractors or any of contractors' subcontractors; or for any failure of contractors or any of contractors' subcontractors to comply with laws, rules, regulations, ordinances, codes or orders applicable to contractors furnishing and performing their work, all of which are under the direct control, and are the sole responsibility, of the contractors. The Director of Public Works may require the Town Consulting Engineer to provide inspection services on his behalf. In such cases, the Director of Public Works shall notify the applicant of his decision, and the applicant shall be responsible for reimbursing the Town of Old Lyme for all associated inspection service costs. In this regard, the applicant shall pay the estimated cost of inspection services to the Town of Old Lyme prior to the start of any work. Any funds remaining after final completion of the work shall be retuned to the applicant. Should the applicant fail to fully reimburse the Town for the cost of inspection services, any remaining amount due shall be deducted from the performance bond prior to its release.

Exemptions. All municipal departments, authorities, commissions, municipal utilities or agencies shall be exempt from the requirements of § 187-73D and E when using their own work force and equipment. No permit fee shall be required of a private contractor or contractors doing work for the Town of Old Lyme or any department, authority, commission, municipal utility or agency when done under the direction of the Director of Public Works of the Town of Old Lyme.

Excavations. The applicant shall ensure that the contractor performing the work completes the required CBYD pre-marking and notification call, and at all times take all proper precautions to safeguard any sewer lines, water mains, storm drains, electrical conduits, telephone conduits, cable TV conduits, gas mains, or appurtenances encountered in the excavation, and shall properly maintain such installations so as to provide uninterrupted service of the same. In locations where the use of power equipment will endanger such installations, the work must be done by hand labor. It shall be the applicant's sole responsibility to ensure that all excavations are braced and sheeted as required to conform with applicable state and federal safety regulations. All excess material removed from a Town road right-of-way and public land shall remain the property of the Town of Old Lyme, and, at the option of the Director of Public Works, shall be removed and disposed of at a location within the Town that he designates. If the Director of Public Works determines that any such excess material is not needed by the Town, the applicant shall be responsible for disposing of the excess material in a lawful manner.

Protection of excavations and public safety. While the Director of Public Works may prescribe such measures that he deems necessary to permit the safe passage of pedestrian and vehicular traffic through the work area, it shall be the applicant's sole responsibility to maintain public safety. All excavations shall be protected at all times by barricades, danger warning signs, and during the night by warning lights. When deemed necessary by the contractor, or as required by Board of Selectmen, the Old Lyme Police Department or the Old Lyme Resident State Trooper, traffic control personnel shall be provided. All measures necessary to protect excavations and maintain public safety shall be the sole responsibility, and at the expense, of the contractor. Excavations shall only be permitted on 1/2 of the traveled portion of a road, so as to allow the safe passage of vehicular traffic on the remaining half. Under no circumstances shall an excavation or opening be made across the width of the entire road or highway, or in such a manner as to prohibit the safe passage of vehicular traffic, without the written permission of the Director of Public Works. Such written permission shall be obtained in advance of such excavation or opening.

Conduits and casings. All power, communications and cable TV wires and cables placed under the roadway shall be installed within schedule 40 PVC conduits with a minimum diameter conforming to the respective utility company requirements. Water, sanitary sewer and other pipes with a diameter of two inches or less that are placed under the roadway surface shall be installed by trenchless technology methods or within a suitably sized pipe casing so as to facilitate any future maintenance or replacement without disturbance of the roadway surface.

Restoring excavations. All excavations shall be backfilled with granular base material conforming to specifications established in § 187-41B. Material removed from the excavations may be used for backfill only with permission of the Director of Public Works or his authorized agent. No muck, clay, frozen earth, topsoil, stones over six inches in any dimension or other deleterious material shall be placed in the excavation. All backfilling must be done in properly compacted layers not exceeding 12 inches in depth after compaction. The dry density after compaction shall not be less than 95% of the dry density for the material when tested in accordance with AASHTO T-180, Method D. Where bituminous concrete pavement is to be placed over the surface of an excavated area, a twelve-inch depth of processed aggregate base shall be provided directly under the pavement. Materials and methods of placement shall conform to the requirements outlined in § 187-42B of these Design and Construction Standards.

Restoration of paved surfaces. Within roadway areas, the existing pavement shall be cut back to the locations indicated by the Director of Public Works and saw cut to create vertical faces. The vertical faces shall be sealed with a tack coat to ensure a good bond between the old and new pavement material. All roadway areas shall be surfaced with a four-inch compacted depth of bituminous concrete consisting of a 2 1/2 inch depth of Class I binder Course and a 1 1/2 inch depth of Class II top course. The placement of bituminous concrete shall be flush with the adjacent pavement and shall conform with the construction standards outlined in § 187-43 of these Design and Construction Standards. Curbs are considered to be part of the paved surface and are to be replaced in accordance with the construction standards outlined in § 187-44 of these Design and Construction Standards.

Restoration of off-road surfaces. Within off-road areas, all disturbed surfaces shall be provided with a minimum depth of six inches of topsoil, limed, fertilized, seeded and mulched in conformance with the final grading and stabilization criteria outlined in § 187-67 of these Design and Construction Standards. All other off-road features, including but not limited to mailboxes, paper boxes, street signs, traffic control signs and pavement markings, shall be reset or replaced so as to conform to their original location and condition before the excavation was made.

Restoration of sidewalks. Any excavation that crosses over or damages (cracking, chipping, etc.) an existing sidewalk shall require the complete removal and reconstruction of that portion of the sidewalk extending to the closest construction joint located beyond the edge of the excavation. The reconstructed sidewalk section shall match the grade and width of the original sidewalk unless otherwise approved by the Director of Public Works. Construction of the sidewalk shall conform to the construction standards outlined in § 187-49 of these Design and Construction Standards and the Standard Detail Drawings.

Disturbance of monuments. Excavations shall be conducted such that no disturbance of road right-of-way monumentation occurs. In the event of accidental disturbance of a monument or property marker, the contractor shall be responsible for retaining and paying for the services of a land surveyor licensed in the State of Connecticut to reset the monument or property marker and to provide a letter of certification to the Director of Public Works.

Maintenance. The insurance and performance bond specified in § 187-73D and E of these Design and Construction Standards shall remain in full force and effect for a one-year period following acceptance of the final restoration work by the Director of Public Works. Such insurance and performance bond shall indemnify the Town against costs and expenses of labor and materials necessary or appropriate to correct or replace improper or defective materials or faulty workmanship, including any damage to any property of the Town resulting therefrom, or to complete construction in conformity with the standards, criteria and specifications prescribed in these Design and Construction Standards. In the event that any required repairs have not been promptly completed by the contractor, the Director of Public Works may make whatever repairs are necessary or arrange for a private contractor to do so. All costs associated with any such repairs shall be billed to, and paid by, the contractor. The contractor shall be liable for all costs of collection, including attorney's fees, and no further permits shall be issued to the contractor until the balance owed to the Town is paid in full.