Application is to be submitted along with a location plan drawing showing the overall dimensions of the proposed road opening, the approximate depth, and the distance from the nearest intersection.
All work zones must be diagrammed for review. Diagrams should indicate the locations of all signs, barricades & traffic. Set up of all work zones must be in compliance with Part VI of the MUTCD
If applicant is a company, include the name of a person to contact and their telephone number in case of emergency.
One check must accompany each application for the permit fee (which includes inspection). See schedule of fees for amount. A performance bond (corporate surety bond, cash or certified check) must also accompany the application for permit. Checks should be made payable to the Township of Franklin.
The applicant must tender all monies. The applicant’s name must be on the checking account.
A current certificate of insurance should be made out to the Township of Franklin as the certificate holder and must accompany the application. See the minimum requirements.
The applicant must supply the Township with proof of notifying OCPDS (one call mark-out). The confirmation number must be on the application or called in before the work begins.
A copy of the street opening permit and approved set of work plans must be kept at the work-site at all times.
Performance bonds will be returned one (1) year from the date of final inspection providing there are no problems with the opening after permanent restoration. If any problems occur, bond release will be one (1) year from the date of latest repairs. The applicant must fill out a completion notice and mail it back to the following Department:
Franklin Township Public Works Department
40 Churchill Avenue, Somerset, NJ 08873
Any repairs, for example trench settling, shall be made within two weeks of notification. No bonds are released during winter months (November 15 to April 15).
The applicant must notify the Director of the Department of Public Works (732-249-7800) of the actual starting date and time of the opening, a minimum of 48 hours in advance. Work for which a permit has been authorized is to commence within thirty (30) days from the permit date, and finished by the expiration date. Extension shall be granted by applying to the Director in writing.
NO STREET OPENING IS TO BE LEFT OPEN OR ONLY STONE OVERNIGHT FOR ANY REASON. THERE IS TO BE TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT PATCH AS SHOWN IN THE DETAIL. STEEL PLATE COVERINGS ARE NOT ALLOWED.
Contractors will be required to establish a starting date one (1) week subsequently from the date of application, at a minimum.
Hours of work are from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm Monday through Friday, holidays excluded or as directed by the Franklin Township Police Department Traffic Safety Bureau.
If the projected date cannot be met, the Township must be notified and the new starting date must be submitted.
A meeting must be scheduled with the Franklin Township Police Department Traffic Safety Bureau at least two weeks prior to construction to submit plans for the safe movement of traffic during the construction. The Traffic Safety Bureau may be contacted at 732-873-5533 ext. 2031, Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Failure to comply may result in a Municipal Court summons and/or a stop work order.
Please note there is a 3 and 5-year moratorium on road opening on recently resurfaced and reconstructed streets, respectively.
SCHEDULE OF FEES AND PERFORMANCE BONDS
Note: ALL WORK PERFORMED BY THE TOWNSHIP AS DETERMINED NECESSARY PER THE ORDINANCE GOVERNING STREET OPENINGS ARE INCLUDED IN THE PERMIT FEE. PERMIT FEES ARE NOT REFUNDABLE.
1. PERMIT FEE $50.00 PLUS THE FOLLOWING BASED ON THE SQUARE FEET OF THE OPENING
a. 0-100 SF $5.00 SF
b. 101-500 SF $3.00 SF
c. 501-1000 SF $2.00 SF
d. over 1001 SF $1.00 SF
2. PERFORMANCE BOND REQUIRED (May be in form of cash or certified check)
a. Curb Opening - $10.00 LF (minimum $250.00)
b. Sidewalk Opening - $5.00 SF (minimum $250.00)
c. Improved Street, including all oil and stoned, asphalt or concrete surfaced areas within the right-of-way - $7.00 SF (minimum $750.00)
d. Unimproved Street, meaning and that are not defined as improved - $3.00 SF (minimum $300.00)
REQUIREMENT FOR CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE
Coverage requirements for Certificate of Insurance
LIABILITY
1. $300,000.00 Each Accident
2. $100,000.00 Each Person
3. Property Damages Not Less Than
$50,000.00 with an aggregate of
$100,000.00 for all accidents
4. The effective date of coverage shall begin twenty-four (24) hours before the proposed opening date and cover a minimum time period of one (1) year from said date.
5. Certificate of Insurance must be made out to the Township of Franklin as the Certificate Holder.
Please fill the application out and mail it back to the Franklin Township Public Works Department, 40 Churchill Avenue, Somerset, NJ 08873.
GENERAL CONDITIONS AND TRAFFIC GUIDELINES
Notification of Emergency Openings
In all cases where emergency openings are necessary, the Township Police Department shall be notified prior to such opening.
Standards
A. No opening or excavation in any street shall extend beyond the center line of the street before being backfilled and the surface of the street temporarily restored.
B. No more than 250 feet, measured longitudinally, shall be opened in any street at any one time, except by special permission of the Director.
C. All utility facilities shall be located sufficiently ahead of trench excavation work to avoid damages to those facilities and to permit their relocation, if necessary. The applicant is required to contact the One-Call Damage Prevention System in accordance with N.J.S.A. 48:2-73 et seq., and as it may be from time to time amended.
D. Pipe drains, pipe culverts or other facilities encountered shall be protected by the permittee.
E. Monuments of concrete, iron or other lasting material set for the purpose of locating or preserving the lines of any street or property subdivision or a precise survey reference point or a permanent survey bench mark within the Township shall not be removed or disturbed or caused to be removed or disturbed unless permission to do so first obtained, in writing, from the Director. Permission shall be granted only upon condition that the permittee shall pay all expenses incident to the proper replacement of the monument.
F. When work performed by the permittee interferes with the established drainage system of any street, provision shall be made by the permittee to provide proper drainage to the satisfaction of the Director.
G. Safety requirements.
(1) Every permittee shall place around the project such barricades, lights, warning flags and danger signs as shall be determined by the Director, through the Police Department Traffic Safety Bureau, to be necessary for the protection of the public. Barricading and signs shall be in the regulations as set forth in the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, 2009 Edition, and any future revisions thereto. Copies of this publication shall be made available in the office of the Director for inspection by the public.
H. Access to private driveways shall be provided, except during working hours when construction operations prohibit provision of such access. Free access must be provided at all times to fire hydrants.
I. Excavated materials shall be laid compactly along the side of the trench and kept trimmed up so to cause as little inconvenience as possible to public travel. In order to expedite the flow of traffic or to abate a dirt or dust nuisance, the Director may require the permittee to provide toe boards or bins; and if the excavated area is muddy and causes inconveniences to pedestrians, temporary wooden plank walks shall be installed by the permittee as directed by the Director. If the street is not wide enough to hold the excavated material without using part of the adjacent sidewalk, the permittee shall keep a passageway at least 1/2 the sidewalk width open along such sidewalk line.
J. If the Director finds that paving surfaces adjacent to the street opening may be damaged where trenches are made parallel to the street or where a number of cross trenches are laid in close proximity to one another or where the equipment used may cause such damage, he may require a negotiated contribution from the permittee for the resurfacing in place of patching of such street if the total area of the proposed patch of probably damaged area exceeds 25% of the total pavement surfacing between curb faces or between concrete gutter edges in any block. Such negotiations shall be carried on and contributions agreed upon prior to issuance of a permit.
K. In the case of utility work undertaken by a public or private utility, which work involves placing new or replacing, or repairing of existing utility infrastructure, such as gas lines, waterlines, electrical lines, and sewer lines, where the area to be trenched is greater than 50 linear feet or as part of an overall project, upon completion or within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the Department of Public Works, the permittee shall 2 inch mill and repave the entire pavement surface from edge to edge, or curb to curb for the full length of the excavation, extending 25 feet from the ends of the excavation, in accordance with the Township specifications.
L. After excavation is commenced, the work of making and back-filling the same shall be prosecuted with due diligence.
M. All pavement cuts, openings and excavations shall be properly made, back filled and temporarily surfaced by the permittee according to Township specifications.
N. The work of the final restoration, including both paving surface and paving base, shall be performed by the permittee according to Township specifications.
Notification of Completion of Work
The permittee shall notify the Director, in writing, upon the completion of all work accomplished under the provisions of the permit.
Permit for opening; Exception.
A. No person, persons or corporation, municipal or private, nor any utility company, public or private, shall for any purpose open, tear up, excavate, bore, tunnel or drive under or in any way impair the surface or subsurface within the limits of the right-of-way of any Township street without first obtaining a permit from the Director of Public Works. The permit or copy thereof shall be available at the site during the duration of the work and shall be presented for inspection upon request of the Director or his authorized representative.
B. In the case of an emergency as defined in § 333-1 of the Township Code, an opening can be made without a permit, provided that the permit could not reasonably and practically have been obtained beforehand. The person shall thereafter apply for a permit on the day on which the office of the Director is open for business, and such permit shall be retroactive to the date when the work was begun.
C. No permit shall be issued to open the pavement of any street that has been constructed or reconstructed for a period of five years from the date of completion of said construction except in the event of an emergency, or where a specific hardship exists in the opinion of the Director, Township Engineer, or the governing body of the Township.
D. No permit shall be issued to open the pavement of any street that has been overlaid for a period of three years from the date of completion of said overlay work except in the event of an emergency, or where a specific hardship exists in the opinion of the Director, Township Engineer, or the governing body of the Township.
E. Where a specific hardship exists, and a permit is issued to open a newly constructed, reconstructed or overlaid street, restoration of the street will be performed as specifically instructed by the Director. Restoration under these circumstances may include, but are not limited to, complete milling and/or overlay of the half width or full width of a section of the street to the limits stipulated by the Director and re-striping of the street as required. Such restoration is to be specified in writing as a condition of the permit.
1. Exceptions shall be granted for utility emergencies, utility openings that impact the safety and welfare of property owners, or if the applicant is able to prove undue hardships. Undue hardships shall be approved at the discretion of the Director
A. In the event that an exception is granted during the moratorium, the applicant shall be responsible to limit the disruption as much as possible, saw cut all excavations, and restore the trench to its original condition including, but not limited to the pavement, surface treatments, and striping. All repair paving shall be completed utilizing infra-red technology within one (1) week of the trench repair. A non-refundable fee of twenty-five hundred ($2,500.00) dollars will be charged to open a road within its moratorium. The inspection fee would be one hundred fifty ($150.00) dollars and the trench must be compacted in twelve (12″) inch lifts. A refundable deposit and bond would still be required in accordance with the permit.
B. The distances in either direction of the opening will be determined by the Director based on the proximity to other roadways or utility concerns. In most cases, final pavement restoration will encompass 25 feet in both directions of the opening for a full width of the existing road. The Director may allow resurfacing to the center line of the road only if the opening is completed within one lane and does not involve disturbance across the center line.
C. Temporary and final pavement restoration shall be completed in accordance with Township standards, and milling will entail the full length and width that must be repaved.
D. The restoration of the pavement shall be done no less than 60 days after the opening, and no more than 120 days after the opening. This will allow for any settlement in the trench to take place before the final pavement is placed. Exceptions to this time frame may be allowed by the Director dependent upon the time of year, which can affect the availability of paving materials.
Prompt completion of work; penalties for non-completion in timely manner.
The permittee under this article shall prosecute with diligence and expedition all excavation work covered by the permit and shall promptly complete this work and restore the street to its original condition, or as near as may be, as soon as practicable and in any event not later than the date specified in the excavation permit. In the event that the permittee begins but does not complete the work by the completion date specified in the permit, then a new application must be filed requesting an extension of the time beyond the date specified for completion of the work. For each day beyond the expiration date of the permit that the excavation in the street is not completed and restored to its original condition, the permittee shall be assessed the following penalties:
