Utility repair tag
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Utility repair tag (also known as A-tag, asphalt tag and road cut medallion) is a plastic color-coded pavement marker embedded in the top surface of an asphalt utility cut restoration to identify the responsible party of that pavement repair or patch.[1][2] The tag is not to be used for identification of an underground utility location.[3]
In 1987, a patent application was filed by Richard E. Sanchez to create a flat disc plastic wafer to be used as a utility cut patch identification tag. Prior to that, government regulations required identification washer to be nailed into the pavement, which created many issues.[4] Subsequently, Sanchez made an improvement to add legs to the plastic disc and filed for another patent in 1989.[5] However, the invention was not used for its intended purpose. The tags were used by many municipalities as call before you dig warning markers instead.[2]
In 2006, New York City Department of Transportation initiated its A-tag program. The goal was to use the tags to clearly identify the responsible party and the year for each of those pavement patches. Prior to the program, the city used painted color which did not contain enough information to identify the responsible party.[2] Some painted marks could identify the responsible party such as yellow "E" marks for Con Edison. The E mark may also include the year such as "E7" for patches made by Con Edison in 2007. However, the painted marks were not consistent.[6]
After Thomas Menino, Mayor of Boston, drove on a patch that was settled and he wanted to have it fixed. The city was unable to identify the contractor who were responsible for that patch. That caused the city to search for a solution and eventually adopt the same utility repair tag approach in 2011.[2][7]
City of Syracuse, New York adopted its "road cut medallion" program in 2016.[8]
Pittsburgh revised its Right-of-Way Procedures Policy in 2017 to require utility repair tags for all utility cut repairs.[9]
