The Arapahoe County, Colorado, road and bridge department found a way to recover a crushed culvert end using the “jaws of life.” These devices are designed to pry or cut the steel from mangled automobiles. The local agency partnered with a fire department to turn an idea into a time- and cost-saving reality.
The innovative plan enabled road and bridge staff to hydraulically straighten damaged culverts in a fraction of the time and expense it normally takes. Repairing these culverts in a traditional manner took four to six hours of labor and cost around $1,000 per culvert. With the jaws of life, it takes only one employee less than 30 minutes to make the repairs, and the work can be completed without disrupting traffic.
The equipment has already paid for itself in cost savings with the first dozen repairs, and it’s expected that $300,000 in savings will be realized over the life of this equipment.
(Adapted from Arapahoe County News, Nov. 14, 2019.)
Learn more:
- Innovative use of Jaws-of-Life means repairs take minutes instead of hours, Arapahoe County News (Nov. 14, 2019). Includes a 28-second video.