[Adopted 11-28-1983]
A.
No opening in any street or sidewalk shall be made
before first obtaining a street-opening permit from the Road Commissioner
or Road Foreman. All permits will be issued in accordance with the
provisions of Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, Title 23. Sections
2701 through 3707. In the case of an emergency situation involving
a utility, the utility may excavate without an opening permit. However,
the utility shall be responsible for obtaining an opening permit as
soon as possible after the emergency and, in any case, before the
excavation is permanently backfilled.
B.
Winter permits. No street-opening permit will be issued
between December 1 in any one year and March 15 of the following year
except for an extreme emergency, as determined by the Road Commissioner
or Road Foreman.
If the work of replacing any of the backfill
and/or the surface of an excavation proves to be unsatisfactory within
a two-year period after the trench has been completed, the area involved
shall be completely reexcavated and the patch replaced at the applicant's
expense by the Highway Department crew.
Whenever a permit has been issued for a street
opening and the excavation has been made, the trench or opening shall
be backfilled with the same material that was removed from the trench
to within one foot of existing pavement except as may be hereinafter
provided. The top 12 inches of the trench shall be filled with approved
bank-run gravel. If a permit is issued during the wintertime and the
excavated material freezes, this frozen material shall not be replaced
in the trench but shall be removed from the area and disposed of.
The excavated area is to be backfilled with an unfrozen material similar
to that removed to within 12 inches of the surface. If the material
excavated contains too much moisture for proper compaction, it shall
be removed and replaced with suitable backfill material.
On all streets where a permanent pavement has
been built, the permanent surface shall be replaced after the trench
has been properly backfilled, except that when openings are authorized
after November 1 in any one year and before April 1 of the next year,
a temporary surface of premixed bituminous material shall be used,
and this temporary patch shall remain until the following year when
the permanent surface shall be replaced. On all other streets, the
trench shall be patched with premixed bituminous material as soon
as the backfilling has been completed, and the joints between the
old and new material shall be sealed to prevent surface water from
penetrating through the joint. In all cases, whenever or wherever
a street opening has been made in any road, street or sidewalk having
a permanent or semipermanent surface, the edges of the pavement shall
be squared up before the permanent patch is made.
Where new private construction is in progress
and excavation in the street is required for sewer connections, underground
electric and/or telephone service lines, the work shall be performed
by an approved contractor, including the excavation and backfilling,
and the contractor shall place a temporary patch over the excavated
area immediately upon completion of the backfilling. Within 30 days
after completion of this excavation and backfilling, a permanent surface
shall be put in place, and this permanent work shall be performed
by an approved contractor.
For all excavations within the street or right-of-way
limits required to repair or replace existing installations by individuals
other than utility companies, the excavation and repair work shall
be accomplished by a private contractor. The backfilling and surface
replacement shall be completed by the Highway Department crew, and
this work shall be at the expense of the owner or applicant.
No culvert shall be installed in any public
street or road right-of-way or drainage ditch before first obtaining
a permit issued by the Road Commissioner or Road Foreman. All permits
will be issued in accordance with 23 M.R.S.A. §§ 2701
through 3707.
No culvert shall be installed of less than 12
inches diameter. The permit issued by the Road Commissioner or Road
Foreman shall contain the diameter, length, type and location of the
culvert deemed necessary by them to adequately control water flow
adjacent to the culvert. Only the specific culvert and location approved
on the permit may be utilized. In instances where a public street,
road right-of-way or drainage ditch has been filled for the purpose
of entry to private property without the installation of a culvert
or the installation of an inadequate size culvert to provide year-round
drainage and water flow adjacent to the filled area, the Road Commissioner
is hereby empowered to require the proper size culvert be installed
by the involved property's owner.
Whenever in the course of excavation in the
right-of-way or the drainage ditch of any public street or road sod
and/or grass is removed by a utility or contractor, the sod shall
be replaced and adequate grass seed shall be applied to ensure replacement
of any grass destroyed.
Any person, firm or corporation violating the
provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished
by a fine of not more than $100 for each offense, except that nothing
herein contained shall be deemed to bar any other legal or equitable
action to restrain or enjoin any act in violation of this article.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall fail to comply with the
terms and conditions of this article or any amendments thereto shall
not hereafter be granted another permit to excavate in any Town street,
road or right-of-way without the prior approval of the Town Council.
