There are always people digging up the streets to do stuff with pipes and cables underground. It's a lot of hassle for those doing the digging and everyone else trying to get about. To solve this all the services should be in one trench that is covered all the way along with removable panels. The panels can be as robust as you like and maybe even semi-permanent. But they can be taken off to give quick access without as much use of drills and diggers as is currently needed. Manhole covers just don't cut it, this idea for the whole sidewalk or roadway to be a series of panels. A side benefit is that when the work is done, the panels can be put back and the appearance of the street is not spoilt.
-- acemcbuller, Jul 25 2008

I voted for this because our city planning council just isn't very good. They dig it all up every two years. So once they were making good progress, coming up to our street, I asked the guy in charge, how long it would take to get our street done. Anywhere between now and ten years he said. Millions of euros are wasted, really. Digging it up and doing it all over again the next year.
-- zeno, Jul 26 2008


I can't believe that it's impossible to do something like this. If we put a man on the moon, a covered trench alongside a road might be attainable within this decade.[+]
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 26 2008


// conveyor belt system //

Pneumatic tube system.
-- 8th of 7, Jul 28 2008


I like this idea, unfortunately it is completely baked.

In Hong Kong , Taiwan and some areas of Japan they already have this. They make the entire road in cities out of big textured concrete slabs and fill in the gaps with bitumen and stagger them.

Outside cities and connecting between towns in HK and Japan they use normal tarmac.

Many moons ago I saw a road repair which involved lifting out a broken section and replacing it by dropping it in.

Though the heavy rain fall in SEA they were mostly trenches to get rid of masses of water than any cables as such.
-- Kennichi1980, Jul 28 2008


I wish they would come up with a mass produced 8-16' dia concrete pipe to be buried in which all of the other utilities ran. I know the initial cost would be very large, but I believe it would be less costly long term because the street wouldn't have to be ripped up every 20 years or less and the corrosion requirements of the lines inside the concrete pipe might be quite less.

If they want to run new lines, fix them, etc, they just send someone down inside the large pipe that contains all of the smaller pipes / cables.

Each lot could have a connection stub and we'd all have an emergency bomb shelter to boot.
-- Zimmy, Jul 28 2008



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