RESURFACING OF MANHOLE COVERS

Mr Cheo Chai Chen asked the Acting Minister for National Development if he will instruct Public Works Department to direct the road construction contractors not to resurface manhole covers of sewage and telephone wire pipes with tar when they reconstruct the roads or do tar-topping.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: When a road pavement is resurfaced, its level is raised slightly. The existing manholes have to be surfaced over to obtain a safe and flat pavement surface for traffic. If the manholes are not surfaced over, there will be localised depressions.

The positions of the manholes are marked after the road is resurfaced. The services departments will later remove the asphalt over these manholes and then raise the level of these manhole covers to be flush with the new road pavement.