Significant utility infrastructure rehabilitation is in progress in the southern portion of the Town of Gilbert to address aging infrastructure and avoid potential manhole failures. The Town has seen booming growth in the last few decades. However, the backbone of its wastewater collection system, including over 10,000 manholes, has aged and feeling the effects in certain parts of town. B&N is providing Project Management/Construction Management (PM/CM) services on the rehabilitation of over 75 sanitary sewer manholes for one of the most rapidly growing towns in the Phoenix-Metropolitan Area.
Setting the Stage for Success
This dedicated capital investment in sewer manhole rehabilitation is in addition to numerous other Town utility and transportation improvement projects that include manhole rehabilitation as well as regular maintenance and operations activities. To achieve an overall picture of system rehabilitation status and best prioritize where rehabilitation should occur next, B&N created and maintains a GIS-based online dashboard that provides a useful snapshot of all manhole work within Town limits. This tool is used by technical and non-technical Town staff to inform the public of a wide range of rehabilitation decisions on a regular basis.
Innovative, Longstanding Solutions
B&N is facilitating rehabilitation that primarily includes the installation of polymer concrete inserts in lieu of traditional coatings. Coatings, while beneficial, are short-term and traditionally require replacement within 5-10 years. The use of inert polymer concrete inserts streamlines construction compared to full reconstruction while still providing an anticipated operational life span of 50+ years. The specification of “high early” fast-setting concrete mixes for manhole cover collars significantly reduced cure times and thereby reducing the time required for traffic control setups and allowing work to occur entirely outside of peak travel periods.