Contractor chooses steel manhole risers for multiple projects
Problem: Founded in 1969, Herzog Contracting Corporation is a giant, with six divisions spread across rail, waste management and roadway construction and maintenance. In 2014, Herzog began implementing a roadway contracting innovation from another firm, the Pivoted Turnbuckle Manhole Riser from American Highway Products. “We’d been using cast-iron risers exclusively to raise manholes to grade,” says Bryan Jones, vice president of project delivery in Herzog’s Heavy Highway Division. “They were effective in many ways, but inventory was a persistent challenge. We perform work for a lot of different municipalities, all with differently sized manholes, and it was difficult to keep every size of riser we may need in inventory.”
Solution: For Jones, the chief advantage of the risers was adjustability. They’re sturdy, flexible rings made of galvanized steel, are easy to set into original utility rims and the pivoted turnbuckle enables fast adjustment to securely fit variously sized manholes. “We first used AHP manhole risers for Wathena, Kansas. I ordered almost 100 risers for that project — we knew from the start they would be a great fit for our operations.”
Result: Since then, Herzog has installed over 1,000 Pivoted Turnbuckle Manhole Risers, keeps a year’s inventory on hand, and has not had any failures to date. Summing up, Jones says, “The AHP risers are a great asset to our operations, and they’ve been incredible to work with over the years.”
888-272-2397; www.ahp1.com
Epoxy used for protection of new manholes
Problem: Thirty-three new 60-inch manholes (all over 10 feet deep) were installed at CantaMia housing development in Goodyear, Arizona. To protect the new infrastructure from corrosion, city engineers required an epoxy coating to be applied to all manholes.
Solution: Manhole Coatings coated the new manholes with 125 mils of Neopoxy NPR-5304 epoxy using plural component spray equipment.
Result: The project was completed successfully and the manholes were in service shortly thereafter. Through the application of the Neopoxy NPR-5304, the critical new infrastructure will be protected for decades to come.
510-782-1290; www.neopoxy.com
Composite covers reduce I&I for municipality
Problem: For decades, sewer spillovers in Fulton County, Georgia, introduced over 30 million gallons per year of pollution into the Chattahoochee River. Sewer overflows caused by inflow and infiltration led to EPA fines, high treatment costs, increased lift station operation, unnecessary rain guards and over-capacity at plants designed for high rainwater events.
Solution: Completely watertight submerged composite manhole covers made by Composite Access Products (CAP) were credited as a major reason for this success. The composite process reduces part-to-part dimensional variation compared to iron casting. Reduced variation allows for a closely mated cover-frame fit. Secondly, dimensional precision and repeatability ensure that bolt holes are aligned and completely secure the cover to the frame, sufficiently squeezing the gaskets. Because composites resist corrosion, assemblies can be designed with smaller gaps, cover/frame degradation will not hamper fasteners, and corrosion holes are avoided.
Result: Under the leadership of Roy Barnes, deputy director of Public Works, the county sealed their system and annual sewer spills have been eliminated. As a bonus, pump run times decreased 50%. Annual electric bills, maintenance and replacement cost reductions for decreased pump run times are estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Chemical treatment costs will also drop at a similar factor with reduced treatment volumes.
844-344-2271; www.justcapthat.com
