The City of Cape Town’s Urban Mobility Directorate is piloting underground chambers for the safe storage of traffic signal controllers and uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems at intersections prone to vandalism and theft.
Two chambers – or prefabricated underground utility manholes – have been installed at an intersection in Belhar.
“The prefabricated chambers are installed a few metres underground and attached to a concrete base,” says Urban Mobility MMC Rob Quintas.
“The traffic signal controllers and UPS system are stored inside the chamber, which is then sealed with a coded mechanical locking system.
“The chamber is nonmetallic and ribbed for strength and has no resale value.
“Given that it is underground, attached to concrete, and can only be opened by trained technicians, we trust that this new innovation will be the solution to the ongoing theft and vandalism of expensive city equipment at hotspot intersections,” says Quintas.
The prefabricated underground utility manhole is a South African invention, and is locally designed and manufactured.
If the Belhar installation proves successful, more underground chambers will be installed at other intersections in the coming months.