Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Hartford council approves ordinance requiring utilities to restore street markings and adjust manholes after repaving
Loading...
Summary
The Hartford Court of Common Council approved an ordinance amending Chapter 31, Article 3 (Sections 31-87 and 31-95) to require utility companies to replace street markings after patches and to raise manholes and pavement cuts to the level of new pavement following city milling and repaving. The change was adopted on the consent calendar Oct. 27,
The Hartford Court of Common Council on Oct. 27, 2025 approved an amendment to Chapter 31, Article 3 (Sections 31-87 and 31-95) of the municipal code requiring utility companies to restore pavement markings after any excavation patch and to adjust manholes and other pavement cuts to match the grade after city milling and repaving.
Councilman Gale, who explained the ordinance on the floor, said the change is meant to prevent depressions and missing road markings left by utility patches after repaving. "When somebody digs up your street and then they put a patch on it, if there had been a yellow line there or a white line or a crosswalk, or any other kind of street marking, those utility companies are now being told that they have to replace those markings even if it's a temporary patch," Gale said. He added that the ordinance requires utility companies to "make sure that their manholes and their any other cuts in the pavement are raised up to the level of the new pavement, so we don't run into these kind of dips that you find after some of our streets have been repaved."
The ordinance was placed on and passed with the consent calendar. During roll call on the consent calendar several council members recorded their votes in favor and one member asked to have their name added as a sponsor for item 5.1 before passage.
The change addresses two routine post-construction problems the council flagged: (1) missing or nonrestored pavement markings after utility cuts and temporary patches and (2) manholes or pavement openings left below new pavement grade after city milling and repaving. Councilman Gale characterized the ordinance as an effort to preserve the safety of city streets and sidewalks after construction and repaving work.
Details about enforcement mechanisms, penalties, or an effective date were not specified on the floor during discussion on Oct. 27.
The ordinance language is recorded as amendments to Chapter 31, Article 3, Sections 31-87 and 31-95 of the City of Hartford Municipal Code.
Council members voting in favor during the consent-calendar roll call included Councilman Bilodeau, Councilman Clark, Councilman Gale, Councilman Hernandez, Councilman Mickham, Councilwoman Rosado, Councilwoman Rosetti, Councilwoman Surgeon and Councilman Thomas. The motion passed.
