Substations have large amounts of electrical conduits and cabling which are usually run underground in precast concrete or cast in place trenches. Precast trenches are frequently preferred for their ease of installation and consistent fabrication. Fibrelite and Trenwa have a strategic partnership, offering joint products incorporating Fibrelite’s composite covers installed on Trenwa’s precast trenches.

This leading US utility company chose Trenwa and Fibrelite’s HS20 road crossing trenches for their new electrical substation.

Historically precast concrete trenches have been covered with concrete or metal covers. Where high load ratings are required (like road crossings), such covers can weigh many hundreds of pounds and are therefore difficult to remove and replace. In addition, over time environmental factors can cause metal covers to corrode and concrete covers to crack, fracture or crumble.

Working with Trenwa, Fibrelite developed a line of lightweight composite covers specifically to fit Trenwa’s precast concrete road crossing trenches and designed to handle HS20 (40,000lb / 20 ton) tonne) load ratings. The Fibrelite trench covers are extremely durable, non-conductive, chemically resistant and not adversely affected by extreme weather or environmental conditions. The covers are also light enough to be safely and easily removed by two operators when monitoring or maintenance of the conduits or cables in the trench is required.

Results

Fibrelite covers will withstand traffic and harsh field conditions for many years. When combined with Trenwa’s precast road crossing trenches, they create an ergonomic yet affordable system for drive over areas, currently available for trenches from 10” to 48” wide.