Drain System Prevents Highway Flooding

Sept. 14, 2012

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) needed to alleviate a drainage issue along a 400-ft stretch of State Route 555 in Winter Haven, Fla. Given the lack of longitudinal slope approaching an intersection, storm water would collect in low points between Route 555 and the driveways to businesses along this stretch of road.  

The original plan called for a 15-in.-wide FDOT Type II trench drain. ACO Polymer Product’s technical services department carried out detailed hydraulic assessments and calculated that the PowerDrain S300K, a 12-in.-wide trench drain system, would meet the required hydraulic performance and flow intake capture rates.

The system also offered a number of advantages: an independently tested Load Class F (3,485 psi) ductile iron grate; integrated ductile iron edge rail; anti-shunt lugs to prevent the grate from moving longitudinally and damaging the trench drain; easy installation; and 14,000 psi compressive strength polymer concrete, which provides superior thermal properties and excellent UV stability.

These advantages enabled the contractor not only to competitively supply and install a trench drain system that could effectively solve the flooding issues, but also to supply a trench drain that will withstand the dynamic loads created by braking and turning vehicles and that will last years beyond the initial design criteria.

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