What is a road opening permit, and when does a project need one?

Before anyone digs up a public road, verge or footpath in NSW, the council has to approve it in writing, and that approval is usually called a road opening permit. Any project whose work crosses the property boundary needs one before the first cut.

Section 138 of the Roads Act 1993 (NSW) requires consent from the roads authority for work in, on or over a public road. The permit is how most councils deal with the digging side of that consent.

Work that needs one

The property boundary is the simple test. Inside it, the site belongs to the client. Past it, the land is road reserve, even where it looks like part of the school's front lawn.

Common triggers on a public project include:

• a new driveway or vehicle crossing
• a water, sewer, stormwater, power or communications connection that crosses the verge
• new kerb, gutter or footpath outside the site
• a trench along or across the road

The authority

The local council is the roads authority for most local roads. On a state road, Transport for NSW has a say too, so that is a second party to bring in early.

What the council asks for

Each council has its own form and fees, and the content is much the same from one to the next. Expect to show where the work is and how big the opening will be, along with the dates and a traffic control plan if the work affects the road or footpath.

The council also wants to see insurance details and how the existing services were located. On that last point, how underground services are located and relocated covers the steps taken before any digging starts.

Road restoration

The permit sets how the trench is backfilled and how the surface goes back. Depending on the council, the contractor restores it to the council's standard, or the council does the work and charges the applicant.

Either way, a trench that sinks later usually comes back to whoever opened it. That is one reason to take care with compaction instead of rushing to close the hole.

The effect on the programme

No permit means no digging, and a permit cannot be rushed through at the last minute. On a job with a fixed end date, such as a school holiday window, the application goes in well before the work starts.

The street connection tends to come near the end of a job, so a late permit can hold up an otherwise finished project. It belongs near the top of the programme from day one.

Who holds the permit

Monument engages with consultants and the local council to obtain these approvals on the client's behalf. It did this for the new driveway and accessible drop-off at Yates Avenue Public School, and for the new emergency vehicle driveway at Edgeware School, which is covered in how an emergency vehicle driveway is built at a school. Monument's own process is set out in how Monument handles council approvals.

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