Subject to the following provisions and conditions, the Company shall have the right to excavate within the street right-of-way for the purpose of laying, relaying, repairing or extending pipes, mains, conduits, communication cables and other facilities provided that the same shall be so placed as to not unreasonably interfere with the construction of any water pipes, sewer pipes or the flow of water therefrom, which have been or may hereafter be located by authority of the city.
1. Installation and Maintenance of Service Facilities. The Company's equipment and distribution facilities shall be installed in accordance with good engineering practices and shall be located, constructed, repaired and operated so as not to endanger or interfere with the lives of persons, or to unnecessarily hinder or obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic. The construction, repair, maintenance and operation of the Company’s facilities shall be in accordance with all applicable laws, ordinances, regulations and codes of the Federal, State and city.
2. Company’s Duty to Not Obstruct and to Restore. Company’s facilities shall be located as to cause no interference with the proper use of streets and other public ways, and to cause minimum interference with the rights or reasonable convenience of property owners who adjoin any of the said streets or other public ways. In making excavations in any streets for the installation of pipes, conduits or apparatus, the Company shall not unreasonably obstruct the use of the streets and shall replace the surface, restoring it to the condition as existed immediately prior to excavation. Said practices shall meet the requirements of the current edition of the Iowa Statewide Urban Standard Specifications, which function as the city standard construction specifications. Any opening or obstruction in the streets or other public ways made by the Company in the course of its operation, pursuant to the authority granted hereunder, shall be guarded and protected at all times by the placement of traffic control, including advance signing, barricades or fencing in accordance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
3. Underground Installation. All cables, wires, fibers, pipes and conduits installed in connection with any utility system shall be installed underground, except where above-ground connections to buildings or other locations where necessary as verified by the public works director. Existing wood poles within the right-of-way may be used for above-ground utility installations, if permission is obtained from the owners of said poles and public works director.
4. Limitation of Space. The public works director shall have the authority to prohibit the placement of new or additional equipment within the right-of-way if there is insufficient space available to occupy the right-of-way. In making such decisions, the public works director shall strive to the extent possible to accommodate all users, but shall be guided primarily by considerations of the condition of the right-of-way, the time of year with respect to essential utilities, the protection of existing equipment in the right-of-way, and future city plans for public improvements and development projects.
5. Company’s Duty to Restore Ground Surface. The Company shall, at its own expense and in a timely manner approved by the public works director, promptly replace and restore all sod, sidewalk, driveway, or street pavement disturbed by the Companies operations. Said restoration shall provide as good a finished condition as before said work was commenced. All work shall be completed in conformance with current city design and construction standards.