Can someone please explain this?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by mwok86, Jun 24, 2010.

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  1. mwok86

    mwok86 New Member

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    Why every road in DC is covered with 50 billion manhole covers that are at least 2-5" deep? (this is NOT because the road is repaved/grooved). What is the reason for having so many manholes covers AND why are they not flat? They are also very intelligently placed that there is no way to maneuver around them either.

    Another rant, why do they put steel plates on the road that sticks out 1-2 feet above the flat surface instead of a flat steel plate? Every week, they are digging some road for no apparent reason and then putting steel plates on and leaving it like that for months. The plates will literally take out your axles if you drive past them at 20mph. When they finally do repair it, they do a EXTREMELY poor patch job...2 weeks later..pieces of the patched tar are coming off and later develop into a massive pothole which they usually do repair after 3 years later or so.

    The sad thing is I actually saw several other Prius drivers FLY past the steel plate. I bet they use their credit card to repair their car.
     
    #1 mwok86, Jun 24, 2010
  2. rctech

    rctech Junior Member

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    I'm sure the Republicans would blame it on Obama. :confused:
     
    #2 rctech, Jun 24, 2010
  3. mwok86

    mwok86 New Member

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    Well, they are building brand new bridges (usually delayed and overbudget by orders of magnitude)....so they must have lots and lots of funds to repair the roads and maintain existing bridges right (a recent survey showed almost 90% of bridges are structurally deficit)?
     
    #3 mwok86, Jun 24, 2010
  4. Beauregard

    Beauregard Member

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    And that would be SO unfair, as Barry never blames anything on Bush....Eye Roll.
     
    #4 Beauregard, Jun 24, 2010
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  5. Bob64

    Bob64 Sapphire of the Blue Sky

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    I'd suspect the manholes are sinking, or the road is being re-paved without removing all of the old layer.
     
    #5 Bob64, Jun 24, 2010
  6. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    That's the reason for the depth, not the quantity.

    It is all throughout the USA though. In Canada, they take the layers fully off and repave. The roads last many years in harsher climates.

    In the states thye just keep adding a new tar layer and it is trashed in a few months...
     
    #6 2k1Toaster, Jun 24, 2010
  7. Kimoy

    Kimoy Member

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    I wouldn't drive any car over a 3 ft steel above the surface. That's not gonna get you nowhere no matter what your speed is.
     
    #7 Kimoy, Jun 24, 2010
  8. mwok86

    mwok86 New Member

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    No, the actual cover is "inwards" instead of being flat. So there is about 2-5" depth. When the road is repaved, the depth is increased even further. When you drive over it, it is like hitting a crater instead of a pothole.
     
    #8 mwok86, Jun 24, 2010
  9. mwok86

    mwok86 New Member

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    LOL, you think 3 feet steel plates are bad? How about driving on a road that is split into sections by "1 foot" gaps?
     
    #9 mwok86, Jun 24, 2010
  10. Bob64

    Bob64 Sapphire of the Blue Sky

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    ... Isn't that exactly what I'm saying? The cover and whatever concrete pipe thats going down is sinking deeper OR the road is being re-paved such that the new layer is built on top of the old layer - with a cutout where the manhole is supposed to be.
     
    #10 Bob64, Jun 24, 2010
  11. mwok86

    mwok86 New Member

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    No, the cover itself has depth. There are 2 types of covers used here, flat covers with vent holes (very rarely used) and covers that are "inwards" (every manhole cover is of this design). Imagine a bottle cap that is turned upside down, it has depth. When the road is repaved such that a new layer is built on top of the old layer - the depth increases further so now it becomes a crater.
     
    #11 mwok86, Jun 24, 2010
  12. skamar

    skamar Junior Member

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    I thought that we had those thinks only here in Greece ............
    Here they put in a street new asphalt and after 2 or maximum 3 days they are making roadworks in order to make new holes.
     
    #12 skamar, Jun 25, 2010
  13. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    I would really love to see a picture of a steel plate that sticks 2-3 feet above the roadway....
    Every plate I have ever seen is only 1 INCH thick, I think you have the units measurements wrong...
     
    #13 KK6PD, Jun 25, 2010
  14. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Maybe they mounted the plate sideways. :D

    Tom
     
    #14 qbee42, Jun 25, 2010
  15. Bob64

    Bob64 Sapphire of the Blue Sky

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    Wow, this sounds so improbable that I'm going to need to see it to believe it. Picture please!
     
    #15 Bob64, Jun 25, 2010
  16. mwok86

    mwok86 New Member

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    It's about half a foot. Definitely more than 1 inch. Due to traffic, you can't really slow down either and there is more than one steel plate.
     
    #16 mwok86, Jun 25, 2010
  17. derkraut

    derkraut Member

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    Well....I'm not that familiar with DCA streets; but maybe all the manhole covers are used by homeless people who sleep on top of them, to keep warm in the winter??
     
    #17 derkraut, Jun 25, 2010
  18. Bruno_S

    Bruno_S New Member

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    This is the reason I gave up on European sports sedans (used to have those before the Prius). In San Diego, CA the streets are crap and the freeways are worse. The low profile tires and firm suspensions of those European cars, which designed for the autobahn, take a beating in U.S. streets. At least the Prius high profile tires and soft suspension provide some cushion from the, close to war-zone, San Diego streets. Taking the condition of the streets you can't blame people for driving trucks and SUVs.
     
    #18 Bruno_S, Jun 26, 2010
  19. Fstr911

    Fstr911 Member

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    I've always thought the 2 to 5 inches were required for expansion due to the excessive amount of hot air in DC.

    As far as the steel plates, that one is simple. They are always digging for answers around there.
     
    #19 Fstr911, Jun 26, 2010
  20. TheSpoils

    TheSpoils Member

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    The manhole covers and steel plates have to be that way, it is a good way to experience the ABS and braking anomoly, probably cause some unintended acceleration as well.
     
    #20 TheSpoils, Jun 26, 2010
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