(A) Permit required. No person shall dig or make an excavation of any kind in any public street, alley, curb, or sidewalk of the city without first obtaining a written permit from the City Engineer or his designee to do so. For purposes of this chapter, an applicant shall obtain one permit for each city block in which work is to be performed; however, the applicant may obtain one permit for a planned construction project as long as the plans and specifications for that planned construction project are included with the initial permit application and are clearly identified as a single construction project, and such application for a single construction project permit is made at least seven days prior to start of construction.
(B) Application for permit. Applicant for the permit shall execute in triplicate a written application to be furnished by the City Engineer or his or her designee. The application shall contain the following information:
(1) The date when the proposed excavation is to be made and the estimated time for completion of the work necessitating the excavation;
(2) The location of the area where the excavation is to be made and the purpose;
(3) The approximate dimensions of the excavation.
(C) Agreement of applicant.
(1) By his or her application the applicant agrees to the following specifications to cut, excavate, fill, close, seal, and permanently resurface the excavation within a period not to exceed 30 days. By this same application the applicant shall require and assure that those contractors and their subcontractors shall follow the specifications herein.
(a) The perimeter of the excavation shall be cut or dressed by saw cutting a minimum depth of two inches from original surface.
(b) All excavations or cuts made into, under, across, or extending three feet from the finished edge of pavements, gutters or curbs larger than 0.5 cubic yards or deeper than 3.5 feet or wider than 1.5 feet or longer than 2.5 feet shall be backfilled with “flowable fill,” also known as “controlled density fill.”
(c) All materials, cuts and excavations shall, unless otherwise specified, shall be in accordance with the INDOT standard specifications.
(d) The flowable fill shall have a compressive strength from 50 psi to 150 psi (pounds per square inch).
(e) The flowable fill shall have a spread test diameter greater than eight inches using the current INDOT testing procedure. The testing shall be done by the City Engineer or his or designee, unless specifically waived.
(f) The flowable fill mix may consist of the following materials and be proportioned within the following limits for each material per cubic yard:
Portland cement | 25 to 75 pounds per cubic yard |
Fly ash | 0 to 1,500 pounds per cubic yard |
Fine aggregate | 2,010 to 3,150 pounds per cubic yard |
Water as required | approximately 500 pounds per cubic yard |
(g) The producer may use water as reducing admixtures and air entraining admixtures when used in accordance with the admixtures manufacturer’s recommendations. The flowable fill may have air content from 0 to 25% by volume.
(h) Before any flowable fill is placed, any pipes, any structure, or other objects that might be displaced by the placement of the flowable fill shall be adequately anchored, braced or secured.
(i) The mixture shall be delivered and discharged from ready mix trucks approved for use by INDOT and a copy of the batch ticket furnished to the job inspector.
(j) Flowable fill shall not be placed on frozen ground and shall be protected from freezing until material has stiffened and bleeding water subsided. When the temperature of the air is at or below freezing, the City Engineer or his or her designee may require freezing protection for up to 48 hours.
(k) When used with concrete, place flowable fill to six inches below concrete surface. As soon as bleeding stops, class A concrete may be placed and protected for 48 hours, unless otherwise approved by the City Engineer or his or her designee.
(l) When used with asphalt, place flowable fill to within six inches below asphalt surface. As soon as bleeding stops a 4 1/2-inch #5 asphalt base with 1 1/2-inch #11 surface may be applied.
(m) When asphalt or concrete can not be placed within scheduled and acceptable time, the flowable fill may be placed level with surface and removed at a later date to make permanent placement per the foregoing requirements. This shall be arranged and approved by the City Engineer or his or her designee. It shall be protected from traffic for one hour or until bleeding has stopped.
(n) When used in an unpaved street, the flowable fill shall be to four inches below the surface and filled level with #53 or equivalent compacted stone after bleeding has stopped.
(o) All excavations or cuts made into, under or across or extending three feet from the finished edge of pavement, gutter or curbs less than 0.5 cubic yards or shallower than 3.5 feet or narrower than 1.5 feet or shorter than 2.5 feet may be backfilled with clean #53 stone placed in six-inch lifts, each mechanically compacted. The stone will terminate six inches below surface. The closure shall be as in division (C)(1)(k) and (l) of this section, as if there was a flowable base.
(p) The City Engineer or his or her designee shall be notified in a timely manner for inspection of cuts and repairs for approval and acceptance.
(q) Any deviations from these requirements shall be by request of the permittee and written permission of the City Engineer or his or her designee. The final approval for cuts of allowed deviation shall be conditional for a period of three years. Any failure to remain level even with adjacent pavement and in good repair prior to three years from the date of final conditional approval shall be repaired in accordance with the above requirements.
(2) The applicant further agrees that in the event the excavation is not properly filled, closed, and sealed or resurfaced pursuant to the established standards and regulations of the City Engineer and after due notice from the City Engineer of the defects or omissions, the applicant shall immediately proceed to correct the defects or omissions in the closing of the excavation.
(3) In the event that street excavations are not properly filled, closed and sealed in accordance with division (C)(1)(b) of this section, the City Engineer shall proceed to properly close and resurface the excavation, and shall bill the applicant for the cost of labor and material required to properly close and resurface the excavation. The applicant shall agree to reimburse the city for costs so incurred.
(4) The applicant agrees to erect and maintain, as safeguards and warnings to the public, proper and adequate guards and sufficient and adequate red lights about the work and excavation until the project is complete and the surface is properly restored.
(5) In consideration of the grant of a permit for a street cut or excavation, the applicant agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the city and its officials and employees from any liability due to damage or injuries to the person or property of anyone on or off the right-of-way arising out of or resulting from the issuance of this permit or the work connected therewith caused by or resulting from the negligence of the applicant, its agents, employees, or subcontractors engaged in the performance of the work or the joint negligence of any of them. The applicant also agrees to pay all reasonable expenses and attorney fees incurred by or imposed on the city arising out of a lawsuit filed against the city for damages, provided a court of competent jurisdiction makes a determination that the applicant, its agents, employees or subcontractors has been guilty of negligence in pursuance of the work resulting from the issuance of a permit for a street cut or excavation, which negligence caused damage to the prevailing aggrieved party, provided the city was not guilty of independent or concurring negligence.
(6) The applicant agrees to remove all unused materials of construction immediately upon completion and removal of all traffic control materials with opening for public use. This shall not exceed 30 days from date of application without prior approval of the City Engineer or his or her designee.
(D) Conditions of permit; fee
(1) Before the granting of a permit to any person the City Engineer shall:
(a) Require the applicant to file with the Engineer an insurance policy, or a certificate showing insurance to be in effect, issued by a responsible insurance carrier to protect the applicant and the city from personal and property damage arising from or caused or effected to any extent by any excavation made pursuant to the permit;
(b) Check the records of the city to ascertain whether the applicant has ever failed to reimburse the city for any work or materials furnished by the city in the filling and resurfacing of any excavation made by the applicant on a previous permit. In the event that the city records disclose any unpaid account owed by the applicant, the permit shall not be granted until payment is made in full.
(c) Require the payment of $25 permit fee.
(d) Ohio Valley Gas Corporation, or its assigns, in a joint agreement with the city signed March 9, 1998, shall be exempt from excavation permit fees only. Ohio Valley Gas Corporation, or its assigns, shall follow all guidelines and restrictions set forth in Ch. 101 of this Code of Ordinances.
(2) Thereafter, the City Engineer shall issue a permit to the applicant and the permit shall contain the name of the applicant, the date of issuance of the permit, the place where the excavation is to be made, and the approximate dimensions thereof. The permit shall be authority to break the street, alley, or sidewalk specified therein.
(E) Emergencies. In the event of an emergency requiring the immediate excavation of a street, alley, or sidewalk, any person may proceed to open or make the excavation necessary to alleviate the condition causing the emergency without first applying for and being granted a permit. However, within 48 hours after making the excavation, the person shall make application for a permit as set forth in division (B) above.
(F) Issuance of permit. On the issuance of a permit, the City Engineer shall mark each copy of the application “Approved and Permit Issued,” to which he shall also note the date of issuance and his signature. The original shall be retained by the City Engineer; a copy shall be delivered to the Street Superintendent; and a copy shall be issued to the applicant.
(G) Inspection. The Street Superintendent shall inspect each project for which a permit has been issued to determine whether proper safeguards and lights may have been installed, to see that the excavation is properly closed and resurfaced, and to give notice and properly close and resurface the opening or excavation in the event that the restoration is not completed within a reasonable time or is inadequately or improperly completed by the permittee. On final inspection the City Engineer shall note on his or her copy of the application the completion of the project. He or she shall further note any moneys expended by the city on behalf of the permittee in completing the project.
(H) In all cases aforementioned that the City Engineer is noted, it is understood that his or her designee may perform such duties and tasks. The designee will generally be the Superintendent of Streets.
(Ord. 3035, passed 5-18-92; Am. Ord. 3235, passed 5-2-94; Am. Ord. 3694, passed 3-16-94; Am. Ord. 4548, passed 11-1-04) Penalty, see § 101.99