OUC--Exising Facility Protection (EFP) process

All new construction, maintenance and installation work in the public way and on private property involving excavation, and all excavations and/or penetrations deeper than 12 feet shall adhere to the following criteria/guidelines and are prerequisites to the issuance of an opening permit. Without collaboration of completion of review by the manager (or his designate) of the Office of Underground Coordination, a pavement-opening permit may not be issued, pursuant to the Municipal Code of the City of Chicago, Section 2-120-300.

In order to promote efficiency of work in the public way, reduce the risk of damage to existing infrastructure and reduce inconvenience to the public caused by work within the public way, a requester must submit an Existing Facility Protection (EFP) request to the OUC. Upon submittal of an EFP with one (1) copy of the proposed construction documents and one (1) disc with CADD drawings of the construction documents published in DWF format, the OUC will assign an OUC number to the EFP request and distribute the request to all Members for their review/response.

In addition, the OUC will send an acknowledgement notification to the Requester. Members are required to respond within 30 calendar days to the OUC with various responses of: “Permit Issuance Authorized”, “Not Involved”, or “Conflict”. Responses may include information and/or comments as to how Member’s existing facilities in the project area are to be protected and also may include inspection requests, etc. Members will contact the Requester directly with any “Conflict” notices and in addition, any received by the OUC will be immediately sent to the Requester for resolution.

A proposed project will not be authorized for permit unless all outstanding conflicts are resolved. The OUC will notify the Requester when all responses have been received and the EFP request will only be authorized for permit when all Member responses have been received as “Permit Issuance Authorized” or “Not Involved”.

NOTE: If your project involves an excavation and/or penetrations deeper than 12 feet below existing grade, contact the Department of Transportation’s Division of Infrastructure Management at 312.742.3130 or 312.744.4995, prior to OUC submittal.

Click here for information and instructions for deep foundation permit review:

Existing Facility Protection process

1. Complete OUC Project Request Form for an “Existing Facility Protection” review.

2. Submit Project Form and e-mail any attachments/drawings or sketches to OUC@Cityofchicago.org. If drawing files are larger than 1MB, forward a disc with drawings files to: Chicago Department of Transportation Office of Underground Coordination 30 N. LaSalle St., Suite 310, Chicago, IL 60602

Your package should also include a hard copy of the plan set, drawing or sketch and a check payable to the City of Chicago for any applicable processing fees. Upon receipt of your drawings, they will be reviewed for compliance and processing. If acceptable, you will receive the OUC#, Client Query# and Pin# assigned to your project. This will allow you to check the status of your project review online.

3. Construction documents are to include, but not limited to, the following:

A. Cover Page--Company/Owner Name, Project Name or Description, Project Number assigned, Site Location map, legends, DIGGER information.

B. General Notes--All contact information (contractor, owner, engineer, etc.), scope of work, general specification and instructions, existing utility notes, materials used.

C. Plan view--exact location of work showing all surface and subsurface utilities, property line, trees, etc. Show distance from property line to excavation location (both north-south and east-west directions). Show what is being installed, including length and quantity of installation, north arrow, scale and all notes. Protective System Installations must be shown for all excavations 5 feet or deeper.

D. All details--typical trench, manhole/handhole, profiles, protective systems, etc.

E. Construction standards and procedures should also be included with the proposed project.

4. Members review request and respond within 30 calendar days to the OUC with various responses of: “Permit Issuance Authorized”, “Not Involved”, or “Conflict” (NOTE: Responses may include information and/or comments as to how Member’s existing facilities in the project area are to be protected and also may include inspection requests, etc., which need to be followed during construction).

5. Members are to contact the Requester/Project Coordinator directly when an EFP is in “Conflict” with their existing facilities for resolution. In addition, any “Conflict” responses received by the OUC will be sent to the Requester for resolution with the Member. An EFP request will NOT be authorized for permit unless all outstanding “Conflicts” are resolved.

6. The OUC will manage the Member reviews/responses and notify the proposing entity when all responses have been received as “Permit Issuance Authorized” and/or “Not Involved””, (NOTE: “Permit Issuance Authorized” and/or “Not Involved” DO NOT indicate that DIGGER has been notified. Please visit the DIGGER web site for dig ticket information).

7. Upon OUC approval, a “Permit Issuance Authorization Letter” will be provided to the Requester. A copy of the authorization must be provided when obtaining the “Opening and/or use in the Public Way” permit from the OEMC/Traffic Management Authority.

The above criteria/guidelines are prerequisites to the issuance of a public way opening permit; without collaboration of completion of review by the Manager (or his designate) of the Office of Underground Coordination, a public way opening permit shall not be issued.

Click here to submit your Project Request Form for an “Existing Facility Protection” review.

https://projectpoint.buzzsaw.com/chicagoouc/z-archive/Project%20request%20form?public