Indiana Administrative Code › Title 105 - INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › Article 16 - BROADBAND REQUIREMENTS AND CRITERIA › Rule 1 - Broadband Requirements and Criteria › Section 1-13 - Requirements for installation of handholes

Current through July 10, 2024
Authority: IC 8-23-2-6; IC 8-23-5-10
Affected: IC 8-23-5-10
Sec. 13.
(a)
				Handholes shall be installed in accordance with the approved permit plans and
				specifications. Handhole covers shall be bolted into place with stainless steel
				bolts and washers. The cover frame shall be installed in the handhole with a
				butyl rubber sealant in tape/coil form for a proper seal between the handhole
				and frame to prevent it from moving out of place. The sealant shall comply with
				ASTM C990 for butyl rubber sealants.
(b) The cover for the handhole shall be
				marked with logo imprints of, "INDOT F/O Conduit Bank" horizontally across the
				cover.
(c) Handholes shall be
				located outside of sidewalks, trails, roadways, and shoulders.
(d) The handholes shall provide sufficient
				strength to withstand external design pressures including super imposed loads
				of soil, roadway, traffic and construction equipment.
(e) A readily identifiable and suitable
				marker shall be placed immediately above any underground communication lines
				where it crosses the right-of-way line.
(f) Handholes shall be located a minimum of
				three (3) feet off the edge of right-of-away
[sic, the
				right-of-way]
unless the handhole is to be installed in the utility
				strip along a curb and gutter roadway. If the handhole is in such a way as to
				permit a vehicle or piece of maintenance equipment to drive over the lid, it
				must be traffic rated.
(g)
				Handholes shall not be in the ditch line or under sidewalks, trails or pavement
				areas.
(h) Handholes may be buried
				in the department's right-of-way provided a programmable electronic marker
				system which includes the company name, date of installation, elevation and
				depth.
(i) All construction and
				maintenance operations shall be planned to minimize closure of intersecting
				streets, road approaches, traffic lanes, or other access points. No
				construction operations, which interfere with traffic, shall be allowed during
				periods of peak traffic flow. In accordance with the INDOT Design Manual,
				Chapter 503* as effective January 1, 2013, a traffic control plan must be
				prepared and submitted with the permit application.
(j) The work site must be secure against any
				safety hazard to the public at all times until all work is completed. All pipe,
				conduit, wire, poles, cross arms or other materials located within the
				right-of-way prior to installation shall be placed outside of any ditches and
				at least thirty (30) feet beyond the edge of the traveled way or behind
				existing guard rails. The department may require construction or maintenance
				operations on the department's right-of-way to be discontinued during periods
				of inclement weather or when soil conditions are such that the work would
				result in extensive damage to the right-of-way or create an unsafe traveling
				condition.
(k) The operator must
				make every effort to minimize the areas disturbed by the work conducted. The
				operator must restore in a timely manner those areas disturbed to its original
				or better condition prior to the work conducted. Restoration of disturbed areas
				shall be in accordance with the requirements of the approved work plan and the
				terms and conditions of the permit.
(l) The operator must maintain existing
				drainage patterns during the installation, maintenance or removal of their
				facilities. Trenches and bore pits for underground facility installations shall
				be backfilled. Outlets or under drains shall be installed as needed to avoid
				entrapped water.
(m) The operator
				must contact the Indiana Underground Plant Protection Service two (2) days
				prior to any excavation or survey so that underground utilities may be located
				and marked.
(n) All facilities
				shall be maintained in good repair both structurally and
				aesthetically.
(o) A permit is
				required for the trimming, cutting, spraying or removal of trees, shrubs or
				other vegetation located within the right-of-way and such activities shall not
				occur without the specific written permission of the department. Tree removal
				includes removing the stump and backfilling the hole. All debris, refuse and
				waste shall be removed from the right-of-way.
(1) The work shall consist of clearing,
				grubbing, removal and disposal of all vegetation and debris within the
				construction limits as shown on the plans, except objects that are designated
				to remain or are to be removed. If no construction limits are shown, the
				right-of-way and easement areas will be the construction limits. Work shall
				include the preservation from injury or defacement of all vegetation and
				objects designated to remain.
(2)
				Trees, shrubs, plants, seeded or sodded shoulders, slopes or other items to
				remain shall be designated and preserved. All areas outside the construction
				limits shall remain in their original condition. All damage to natural terrain,
				vegetation, objects designated to remain, or areas outside the construction
				limits which have subsequently eroded or been damaged shall be repaired to its
				original or better condition or shall be replaced.