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Township of Unity, PA
Westmoreland County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[Adopted 5-28-1984 by Ord. No. 169-A]
No road construction can be commenced within the Township until a road construction permit has been granted by the Supervisors. Each permit is to be issued upon blank forms furnished by the Township.
[Amended 2-14-1997 by Ord. No. O-1-97]
The minimum right-of-way width of all streets, roads and highways shall be 50 feet.
[Amended 4-25-1988 by Ord. No. O-3-88; 2-14-1997 by Ord. No. O-1-97]
Located on any subdivision plan or any site plan shall be a plan and profile together with the reproducible tracing and four prints containing the location of all fire hydrants. The fire hydrants provided for can either be installed immediately at the cost of the contractor or the money to accomplish the same placed in escrow with the Treasurer of the Township of Unity, the same to be erected at such time as sufficient houses are built within 750 feet of the same; provided, however, that should they be installed immediately, then an escrow fund to ensure the payment of the tax to be levied thereon, covering the payment due on the fire hydrants for the first three years, shall be established by the contractor prior to the approval of any plan.
The paving width and curbing requirements in any grade and type of paving shall be established and noted on detailed plans and profiles submitted to the Board of Supervisors. The plan and profile for each street must be shown on a drawing 24 by 36 inches and a reproducible tracing furnished, together with six prints.
[Amended 2-14-1997 by Ord. No. O-1-97]
Detailed plans of the existing drainage and proposed drainage facilities for streets, roads or highways and contiguous territory shall be submitted to the Board of Supervisors for their approval. These plans must also accompany any subdivision or site plan submitted for approval by the Township of Unity. The plans must cover the scope large enough to show the effect of the proposed drainage facility or facilities on any land or stream above and any land or stream below the proposed site. The Stormwater Management Ordinance[1] of the Township of Unity shall be complied with.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 99, Stormwater Management.
[Amended 4-25-1988 by Ord. No. O-3-88; 2-14-1997 by Ord. No. O-1-97]
A. 
The roadway shall be 24 feet in width, inclusive of curbing; however, curb width shall be 12 inches on each side of the roadway.
B. 
No street grade shall be less than 1% and shall not exceed 12% for any street or roadway. Streets shall have a grade not to exceed 5% for a distance of 50 feet from the street rights-of-way line for any intersecting street. The roadway shall have a three-inch crown.
C. 
Vertical and horizontal curve design.
(1) 
Vertical curves in profile design. For all streets and roadways in the Township of Unity, profile grades shall be connected by vertical curves as established in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, latest edition; however, the minimum vertical curve length shall be 100 feet.
(2) 
Horizontal curvatures shall conform to the following minimum center line radii:
(a) 
Streets and roadways: 300 feet.
(b) 
Culs-de-sac: 100 feet.
(c) 
A minimum fifty-foot tangent shall be introduced between reverse curves on all streets and roadways.
D. 
Streets shall be laid out to intersect as nearly as possible at right angles; no street shall intersect another at less than 60°.
E. 
Culs-de-sac shall be a minimum of 250 feet in length, measured from the center line of the intersecting street to the midpoint of the culs-de-sac. Permanent culs-de-sac shall not exceed a length of 2,500 feet unless modified by the supervisors of the Township of Unity because of physical features of the site which may necessitate a waiver.
F. 
Each cul-de-sac shall be provided with a turnaround having a minimum right-of-way radius of 50 feet. The outside of the road surface within the turnaround right-of-way shall have a minimum radius of 40 feet. The cul-de-sac shall be completely asphalt with an inverted crown located in the center. The low point of the cul-de-sac shall have an inlet for drainage purposes. Temporary culs-de-sac shall be constructed to the same dimensions of a permanent cul-de-sac.
G. 
Grading. The road or street must be graded to the full width of the right-of-way in conformance with the grading requirements designated by the Township Engineers or the Supervisors of the Township. When filling operations are required, all topsoil must be removed and the surface roughed up or scarified in order to assure a good bond between the fill and virgin soil. (If the lateral slope upon which the fill is to be made is deemed too steep for scarifying to make the necessary bond, then the virgin soil must first be benched and the fill placed upon the benches.) All filling operations must conform to provisions set forth in the current Pennsylvania Department of Highways Form 408. Drainage for any springs, wet areas, existing streams or wet weather gullies encountered while preparing for filling operations must be provided before any fill operations can be commenced.
H. 
Location of streets. All streets shall be located in the center of the fifty-foot right-of-way. The subgrade must be well rolled with an approved three-wheel, minimum ten-ton roller, crowned in conformance with the finished surface crown, and must be perfectly smooth, free of any sponge area and well drained with approved subgrade drains and/or bleeders and the bleeders draining into approved dry wells (constructed a minimum distance of four feet from the edge of paving), lateral drains, storm sewers or drop inlets. All storm sewer pipe shall be concrete or high-density plastic pipe (PennDot approved). In all cases the flow lines of the aforementioned dry wells, lateral drains, storm sewers and drop inlets must be at least 18 inches to three feet below the lowest part of the subgrade. All drainage must be constructed and in operation before any fine grading, berm construction or filling is commenced.
I. 
Preconstruction requirements.
(1) 
No base or paving construction shall be commenced prior to the installation of all utilities. All utility lines, sanitary sewer lines, including laterals and service lines, within the street right-of-way must be constructed using complete pneumatic tamped back fill in minimum four-inch layers using suitable material.
(2) 
Prior to the placement of subbase material, the subgrade shall be proof-rolled with a Township loaded single-axle truck. In the alternative, a nuclear testing gauge for compaction can be used. The approval of the compaction shall be made by the Township Engineer. This procedure shall also be used to test the subbase prior to placing the base course material.
J. 
Base course construction. The base shall be of AASHTO No. 1 stone or No. 3 modified to a twelve-inch thickness and compact to not less than eight inches with at least a three-wheel, ten-ton roller and choked with screenings or dust of the same material as the base and using a two-inch inverted choke. The finished base shall be power-broom swept and have a mosaic appearance with at least 70% heavy aggregate showing. This construction is also to comply with specifications set forth in the current Pennsylvania Department of Highways Form 408, together with all amendments, bulletins, etc., in effect.
[Amended 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. O-2-06]
K. 
Roadway base course - Superpave 25.0 mm. base course. The base course shall be Superpave Asphalt Mixture Design, 25.0 mm, PG 64-22, four-inch depth. Anticipated traffic counts must be submitted in order to calculate the ESAL (equivalent single-axle load) and SRL (skid-resistance level) ratings. All work shall be performed in accordance with PennDOT Publication 408, latest edition. Asphalt curbing, if any, is to be placed with the base course.
[Amended 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. O-2-06]
L. 
Sealer. After the base course has been laid, the street shall be sealed with Superpave Asphalt Mixture Design, 9.5 mm, PG 64-22, wearing course, 0.0 to 0.3 million ESAL's, SRL M, one-inch depth.
[Amended 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. O-2-06]
M. 
Final wearing course and final curb course.
[Amended 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. O-2-06]
(1) 
The final 1 1/2 inches of wearing course shall be installed only after 80% of the lots are developed in the subdivision. If a street is a main street which provides access to other streets or phases, the final wearing course shall not be applied to that street until the final wearing course has been placed on the access streets.
(2) 
After 80% of the lots are developed and the developer has requested that the Township consider accepting the roadway(s), a final inspection shall be performed by the Township. This inspection, with Township personnel in attendance, shall document any soft areas, cracked asphalt, broker or depressed curbs, ruts in the roadway or any type of deficiencies that would prohibit the stormwater runoff from being collected in the inlets. Corrections may consist of saw-cutting, removing defective sections of asphalt, excavating subbase and/or subgrade, etc.
(3) 
The final wearing course and final curb course shall consist of Superpave Asphalt Mixture Design 9.5 mm, (Fine Grade), PG 64-22, wearing course, 1 1/2 inch depth. The ESAL and skid-resistance level (SRL) ratings are traffic count dependent, therefore, traffic data shall be submitted in accordance with PennDot Form 408 to justify the classification.
N. 
Storm grates. Storm grates in residential areas shall be bicycle safe. When storm grates and inlets are installed they must be to binder level and then raised when the final wearing course is installed.
O. 
Bonding. Within 10 days, prior to beginning work, the developer shall provide a schedule of the work to be performed. The developer must also post a performance bond in the form of a security bond or letter of credit or cashier's check or certified check made payable to the Township of Unity in an amount approved by the Supervisors, 110% of the construction cost of the roadway. The security bond shall be in the form of a performance bond written with a bonding company licensed to do business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and acceptable to the Township Supervisors. A letter of credit in such form as acceptable to the Township Solicitor and drawn on a bank acceptable to the Township for a limited assignment of cash, bonds or securities in that amount and which shall guarantee the Township the full and complete performance by the developer and also guaranteeing the Township against any deficiencies in the roads, rights-of-way, storm sewer systems and the repair and maintenance thereof until the bond is released.
P. 
Construction permit. Prior to beginning work, the developer shall file all bonds, escrows, a work schedule, a signed developers agreement prepared by the Township and any and all other documents. After all of the documents have been filed, the Ordinance Officer shall issue a construction permit after which the developer may proceed.
Q. 
Special signs.
(1) 
After the binder has been installed, the contractor shall escrow funds to install all necessary street signs. The signs shall be installed by the Township. The escrow amount is $75 per sign, plus the actual costs to the Township for the material and labor to erect the signs. The contractor shall also escrow funds to update the street signs which shall contain the Township road number when they officially become Township roads.
(2) 
If the developer erects signs other than the standard sign used by the Township, the developer shall notify the Township and sign an agreement with the Township accepting full responsibilities for costs of the signs plus material and labor for erection of the signs. If the developer or property owner at a later time decide to use the standard sign used by the Township, Subsection Q(1) regarding signs shall be followed.
R. 
Maintenance bond. At the time the final wearing course is installed, the developer shall post a two-year maintenance bond with the Township Supervisors in the amount of 50% of the cost of the base, binder and wearing courses. The bond shall guarantee base, binder and wearing courses against deficiencies in workmanship and materials. The two-year maintenance bond shall be in effect the day after the Township accepts the road into the Township system. If any maintenance on the road shall be incurred before acceptance into the system, the developer or contractor shall enter into an agreement to accept the costs for maintenance. The Township shall not be liable for any damages that might occur from maintenance. An inspector shall be appointed by the Township Supervisors at the expense of the contractor or developer. After the roadway is complete, and prior to its adoption into the Township system, as built drawings of the roadway and stormwater facility shall be forwarded to the Township. A center line description of the roadway shall also be included. The drawings shall include a certification of a registered professional engineer.
Road construction, such as filling, berming, subgrade, fine grade construction, base construction or surface construction, cannot be commenced before May 15 and must be completed before October 15 of the same year. It is assumed that the weather conditions between these dates will be ideal for road construction. However, if adverse weather conditions occur between these dates, the contractor or builder must abide by the judgment of the Township Supervisors, their agents or assigns in regard to permissible-construction weather conditions or as directed by the Township.
[Amended 2-14-1997 by Ord. No. O-1-97]
All private roads shall be installed according to Township specifications to provide the Township a minimum right-of-way base drainage and permanent wearing course of two-inch FB-1 or ID-2, single base bituminous penetration paving or other surfaces acceptable to the municipality.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former §§ 100-15, Bond and inspection fees, and 100-16, Violations and penalties, were repealed 2-14-1997 by Ord. No. O-1-97.
[Amended 2-23-1994 by Ord. No. O-3-94; 2-14-1997 by Ord. No. O-1-97]
All storm sewer plans must be submitted to the Township for review prior to acceptance of the final plan. Storm sewers shall meet the following minimum requirements:
A. 
All pipe shall be HYPE (plastice) or reinforced concrete, Class III (minimum) or higher class when specified by the Township.
B. 
Inlets shall be PennDot Type M or equal as specified by the Township.
C. 
Design. All storm sewers shall be designed as provided in the Stormwater Management Ordinance of the Township of Unity (Chapter 99).