(A) General excavation. The excavation, backfilling, patching, and restoration, and all other work performed in the right-of-way shall be done in conformance with engineering and OSHA standards.
(B) Excavation protection. The permittee shall be responsible for barricading the excavation in conformance with the Uniform Traffic-Control Manual as adopted by the State Department of Transportation.
(1) It shall be the duty of every person cutting or making an excavation in or upon any public place to place and maintain barricades and warning devices necessary for the safety of the general public. Warning signs shall be placed far enough in advance of the construction operation to alert traffic within a public street, and cones or other approved devices shall be placed to channel traffic, in accordance with the instructions of the administrative authority. All safety precautions and traffic-control measures shall conform to current requirements as specified in the latest edition of the Uniform Traffic-Control Manual as adopted by the State Department of Transportation.
(2) The permittee shall take appropriate measures to assure that during the performance of the excavation work, traffic conditions, as near normal as possible, shall be maintained at all times so as to minimize inconvenience to the occupants of the adjoining property and to the general public. Adequate pedestrian passageways shall be maintained.
(3) The permittee shall maintain safe crossings for two lanes of vehicle traffic at all street intersections, where possible. If any excavation is made across any public street, alley, sidewalk, or established crosswalk, adequate crossings shall be maintained for vehicles and for pedestrians.
(4) The Public Works Director may, by written approval, permit the closing of streets and alleys for a prescribed period of time. The Public Works Director may require that the permittee give notification to various public agencies and to the general public before approval becomes valid. In specific instances, even though the street may not be closed, the permittee may also be required to give such notice.
(C) Protection of adjoining property. The permittee shall at all times preserve and protect from injury any adjoining property by providing adequate support and taking other necessary measures. The permittee shall, at its own expense, shore up and protect all buildings, walls, fences, or other property likely to be damaged during the process of the work and shall be responsible for all damage to public or private property resulting from its failure to properly protect and carry out said work.
(D) Maintenance of roadway drainage. The permittee shall maintain all gutters free and unobstructed for the full depth of the adjacent curb and for at least one foot in width from the face of such curb at the gutter line.
(E) Care of excavated material. All excavated material piled adjacent to the trench or in the street shall be maintained in such a manner as not to endanger those working in the trench, pedestrians, or users of the streets, and so that as little inconvenience as possible is caused to those using the streets and adjoining property. The Public Works Director may require the permittee to remove the excavation material from the work site. It shall be the permittee’s responsibility to secure the necessary permission and make all necessary arrangements for all required storage and disposal sites.
(F) Noise, dust, and debris. Each permittee shall conduct and carry out excavation work in such a manner as to avoid unnecessary inconvenience and annoyance to the general public and occupants of neighboring property. In the performance of the excavation work, the permittee shall take appropriate measures to reduce, to the fullest extent practical, noise, dust, and unsightly debris. Between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., the permittee shall not use, except with the express written permission of the administrative authority, or in case of an emergency as herein otherwise provided, any tool, appliance, or equipment producing noise of sufficient volume to disturb the sleep of occupants of the neighboring property.
(G) Breaking through pavement.
(1) Heavy-duty pavement breakers may be prohibited by the city when their use may endanger existing substructures or other property.
(2) Sections of sidewalks shall be removed to the nearest scoreline or joint.
(3) Unstable pavement shall be removed over caveouts and overbreaks and the restoration shall be treated as part of the main excavation.
(4) Pavement edges shall be trimmed to a vertical face and neatly aligned with the center line of the trench.
(5) Cutouts, outside the trench lines must be normal or parallel to the trench line.
(6) Boring or other methods to prevent cutting of pavement may be required.
(7) All pavements shall be cut a minimum depth of two inches on the outside edge of the area to be excavated before excavation begins to prevent lifting of surfaces outside the area being excavated.
(H) Clearance for emergency facilities. The excavation work shall be performed and conducted so as not to interfere with access to fire hydrants, fire stations, fire escapes, and any other emergency facilities.
(I) Placement and compaction.
(1) Backfilling shall progress uniformly in horizontal layers throughout the excavation area to be filled. Select materials shall be placed around the pipe, conduit, and the like, and carefully compacted with mechanical equipment and non-mechanical tamping within the pipe zone to at least six inches above the conduit. At this point, succeeding layers of backfill material shall be placed in uniform layers before compaction of approximately six inches, tamped by mechanical means specially fabricated for this use only. Compacting with the backhoe bucket or front end loader tires will not be acceptable. Compaction of each layer shall continue until the density is equal to that of adjacent undisturbed materials at the same elevation in the trench. Compacted granular materials shall meet at least 100% standard proctor density, ASTM D-698-70, if density tests are required.
(2) (a) The permittee shall refill the excavation in a manner which is satisfactory to the administrative authority and is most effective to accomplish through consolidation and enable the public place to be restored to a condition equivalent to that in which it was prior to the excavation.
(b) When required, soil tests are to be furnished by a registered professional engineer specializing in soil engineering.
(c) Prior to resurfacing, tests must show that the backfill material meets the minimum requirements as prescribed by the administrative authority.
(c) The permittee shall be required to bear the expense of such tests.
(2006 Code, § 14.50) (Ord. 137, 3rd Series, passed 4-7-2000; Ord. 196, Third Series, passed 4-14-2015) Penalty, see § 91.99