Kijlstra pre-cast manholes benefit highway project

Kijlstra's square pre-cast concrete manholes have been used in the construction of a bypass for Church Village in South Wales.

Design and build contractor Costain trailed more than 150 of the Kijlstra manholes in the three year contract - the largest highways project undertaken by any local authority in the UK - and will now use them on every suitable future project.

The Kijlstra system can typically be installed up to 16 times quicker than traditional systems on standard units.

At Church Village, it took from one hour for each system to be excavated, supported, bed prepped, transported to the precise location, installed and backfilled.

Manufactured from self-compacting concrete and poured monolithically with benching to guarantee optimum size consistency and strength, the system is combined with a high quality finish that gives a 120 year design life.

Once on site the Kijlstra standard square manhole can be typically installed by two people and an excavator within 30 minutes, compared to the one to two days it takes on average to install traditional round manholes.

This off-site ability means the Kijlstra system requires less people, materials and plant, and takes less time and money to install.

The manufacturing process ensures the square manholes are as strong and robust as their predecessors, and do not need reinforcing or shuttering, saving time and minimising Health and Safety issues.

The new bypass was procured by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council and was funded by means of a Transport Grant from the Welsh Assembly Government.

The Kijlstra manholes are located in various locations throughout the site that comprises 7km of single carriageway, 1.5km of side roads, four roundabouts, one overbridge, one underpass, three footbridges and nine major culverts, with significant utilities interface and mine treatment works.

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