An analysis of road pavement collapses and traffic safety hazards resulting from leaky sewers

In this paper, road pavement collapses resulting from sewer leakage are divided into six categories: negligible, marginal, considerable, serious, very serious and catastrophic, with the categorization being based on two criteria, both related to traffic safety, i.e., the number of fatalities caused by sinkholes, and the extent of the road pavement damage. The causes of road pavement collapses are also discussed. The study involved analyzing the deterioration of sewer pipes with long service lives, focusing on the most common materials, i.e., concrete and vitrified clay. The results of the sewer inspections performed by the Kielce University of Technology suggest that the spot and linear defects detected in sewers of this type can be divided into three groups. The findings were used to formulate some recommendations on how to improve road traffic safety by preventing road pavement collapses.