P R OJ E C T M A N AG E M E N T
Improve Infrastructure with Manhole Maintenance BY AARON BARR
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anholes are as safe and secure as the surrounding roadway. Unfortunately, the American Society of Civil Engineers reported in its 2021 report card that 43% of the public roadways in the United States are in poor or mediocre condition. In any given city or suburb, there are manholes approximately every 300 feet of roadway. That means there are many opportunities for potential gotchas every time one drives along a poorly maintained road. As John Hickey, executive director of the Asphalt Pavement Association of Oregon puts it, “Go out on any road and the chances are high that you will see a manhole that does not match the surrounding pavement. When a manhole isn’t at the right elevation—if it’s too low, too high, or angled incorrectly—it’s difficult to compact the surrounding asphalt correctly. That asphalt is going to fail way earlier than all the other asphalt on the road, which will create a longterm repair nightmare.” The costly impacts associated with poorly installed or maintained manholes vary, and not all are as evident as the feeling of hitting a bump in the road. Most obvious are the direct costs of having to repair road damage, including the labor costs associated with breaking up pavement, releveling the manhole and having to re-pave around it— due to the entirely preventable issues Hickey mentions above. But there are also many hidden costs of bad manholes that should be considered, and construction crews need to be given the proper tools to do it right— and safely—the first time.
ASPHALT INTEGRITY
According to the National Asphalt Pavement Association, 93% of America’s paved roads are surfaced with asphalt. When newly laid and perfectly leveled, asphalt should last anywhere from 15-20 years before preservation treatment. When cracks and premature road wear develop around a utility but not in the main sections of a roadway, however, that’s typically an issue with the utility cover’s elevation (e.g. too low, too 22 | FEBRUARY 2022
This grade adjustment with the RimRiser shows one installer can make adjustments in less than one minute.
high, tilted incorrectly) and maintenance is going to be required more frequently. Bad manhole installations lead to cracks developing around utility covers, causing leakage into the manhole, as well as creating dips, mounds or bumps that lead to further asphalt damage over time, ultimately resulting in the need to repave roads. A straight section of road with no curbs is an easy paving job. But throw in some
variables, and things get tricky. When complex intersections are involved—including multiple underground utilities, automatic grade controls, intersections with ADA compliance, draining requirements, curbs, milled or overlayed surfaces or any other variables—paving around utilities becomes more complex, and the more important it is to get it right the first time. In short, the more precisely a manhole cover matches
