Those of us living where snow and snow plowing happens, know that the covers need to be recessed (usually about 1/2") below the pavement so the plow blades don't hit. Around here, probably because of recession deferred maintenance and cheaper oil prices, they're doing a lot of mill/overlay asphalt road work this year. I just don't understand why the covers aren't at the reasonable level as many give you a good jolt and I see other drivers also trying to miss them just like a pothole. Seems it would be better/safer after roadwork that drivers could focus on the driving without attention diverted by the roadbed!
Manhole covers=potholes!?!
- Thread starter Lapham3
- Start date
- Status
We have the same problem. I don't mind it so much driving the truck but in my Mustang on some roads I'm sure an office could pull me over for drunk driving since I have to swerve so much to avoid them.
Like you said, it seems to be the roads that got recapped with asphalt.
Like you said, it seems to be the roads that got recapped with asphalt.
Around here you have to drive like a drunken sailor so you don't blow tires and damage rims and suspension. Third world infrastructure.
In Illinois, it is the responsibility of the utility who owns them, to make sure that they are properly set according to the surrounding road surface.
I've seen highway departments come back and cover them with asphalt, when the utility fails to properly reset them after a paving job.
I've seen highway departments come back and cover them with asphalt, when the utility fails to properly reset them after a paving job.
Same around here in Fort Wayne. Some are really sunken down. After almost 40 years of driving these streets you start to memorize where they are at and know which line to take to avoid them. I remember when they would reset them as part of the paving job. Must have been too costly, now they just pave around them.
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Messages
- 29,558
They're the same way here too,and they're always right inline with the path of your tires,therefore I always swerve around them. I have all the manholes on my routes memorized so I don't drive in their path. [censored] things can probably knock your car out of alignment. They even play havoc on my work truck (Ford E250) if I drive over them!
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
Manhole covers used to blow right off near my workplace. The municipalities have sorted that out mercifully. Talk about dodging a pot hole.
As a designer on the roads you drive Lapham3, the first preference is to not have manhole covers in the driving lanes at all. We do our best to keep them out of the driving lanes if possible, but often that just is not feasible.
After that, the usual spec is that the cover is supposed to be 0.05 feet below the pavement surface (0.6 inches). Yes, this is a lot.
The biggest reason for that differential is to account for frost movement. The base of the manhole is located several feet below the road surface, and may or may not get frost in the soil at the base. The soils at the road surface will have frost in them (particularly since we plow the insulating snow off of them) and will move differently than the manhole. Setting the manhole lower gives room for the two to move at different rates and thus the plows won't catch them.
As far as mill and overlays go, I can say our budget is about the same it has been for years, but it goes a bit further than it did a few years ago. Even with that though, we are falling behind on pavement maintenance - that is to say it deteriorates faster than we are maintaining them. In the long run, it means we'll need to do more expensive full depth reclamation or full blown reconstructions instead of mill and overlay since we aren't keeping up.
As part of those jobs, the manhole castings are supposed to be adjusted to the .05' setting.
After that, the usual spec is that the cover is supposed to be 0.05 feet below the pavement surface (0.6 inches). Yes, this is a lot.
The biggest reason for that differential is to account for frost movement. The base of the manhole is located several feet below the road surface, and may or may not get frost in the soil at the base. The soils at the road surface will have frost in them (particularly since we plow the insulating snow off of them) and will move differently than the manhole. Setting the manhole lower gives room for the two to move at different rates and thus the plows won't catch them.
As far as mill and overlays go, I can say our budget is about the same it has been for years, but it goes a bit further than it did a few years ago. Even with that though, we are falling behind on pavement maintenance - that is to say it deteriorates faster than we are maintaining them. In the long run, it means we'll need to do more expensive full depth reclamation or full blown reconstructions instead of mill and overlay since we aren't keeping up.
As part of those jobs, the manhole castings are supposed to be adjusted to the .05' setting.
This seems to be a pretty universal problem. In some urban areas, I've heard people ask if qualifying manholes and smaller plate openings can just be marked and paved over as the road surface will likely be ripped up again at least two or three times during the calendar year for new fiber optic cables or replacement of 90 year old water pipes, etc. It's a fix that's fixed again continuously because of that situation. If everything is temporary, it usually doesn't matter if something is to spec because it'll change soon enough and morph into another obstacle.
Local guy invented, patented, and now manufactures a tool to fix this..
Mrmanhole.com
Mrmanhole.com
Ok-a pretty common problem it seems. I also went thru this as our neighborhood streets were reconstructed. I talked to the young pup site engineer about it before hand and he acknowledged the issue-even then the result on some covers was way off. I think sometimes the crews don't care or hope to escape the extra work and the engineering rep doesn't want to 'make any waves'.
Originally Posted By: MNgopher
After that, the usual spec is that the cover is supposed to be 0.05 feet below the pavement surface (0.6 inches). Yes, this is a lot.
Thanks for the insight MNgopher, I could certainly accept 0.6 inches. Some of these bone jarring covers around here are more like 2" below grade. Not only is it hammering our vehicles, it has to be hammering the foundation of the cover itself.
After that, the usual spec is that the cover is supposed to be 0.05 feet below the pavement surface (0.6 inches). Yes, this is a lot.
Thanks for the insight MNgopher, I could certainly accept 0.6 inches. Some of these bone jarring covers around here are more like 2" below grade. Not only is it hammering our vehicles, it has to be hammering the foundation of the cover itself.
Here in the boonies of central Illinois one thing that really grinds my gears is when they do the regular three year cycle of asphalt and chips for the roads they do both roads at the intersections. Over the years it becomes a big bump that can launch your car if you hit them fast enough. Some road commissioners are aware and some aren't.
- Status
