Re: “About those manhole covers,” May 21 letter to the editor; and “A hole-istic driving experience in Denver area?,” May 27 letter to the editor.
The reason manhole covers are below road grade is deliberate, and required by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). The whole reason the covers, and the grade rims they sit in, are below the road grade is so that as snowplows scrape the ice and snow off the roads, their blades do not hook and cause damage to the covers or the road.
Yes, it does cause wear and tear to vehicles’ suspensions, but CDOT’s mission is to protect the roads, not the vehicles that drive on them.
In Phoenix, a place that has no snow, the manhole covers are at road grade and are rarely below. Manhole “potholes” are just a consequence of living in a snow-covered climate.
Kenneth Robbins, Lakewood
This letter was published in the May 30 edition.
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