By John Ford, Engineer and Director, ENCAT Australia
Published October 2026 | Last reviewed October 2026
John Ford founded ENCAT Australia in 1989 and has spent more than 35 years designing and manufacturing public safety and civil infrastructure in Wollongong, NSW. He designed and patented ENCAT’s truck resistant kerb lintel after seeing the same concrete lintels broken by trucks and buses again and again, and installed one at a problem corner in Dapto in October 2026.
Kerb lintels that keep breaking
Most kerb lintels last for decades. A small number are cracked and broken again and again, at the same corners, because trucks and buses clip the kerb and drive over them. That recurring damage keeps those sites in a cycle of reactive maintenance. This article is for council asset and maintenance teams deciding what to do about them.
The short answer
In short: compare the cost of every repair at a site, not the price of one lintel.
If a lintel has been broken by heavy vehicles more than once at the same place, another concrete lintel will most likely break the same way. The number to compare is not the price of one lintel. It is the cost of every repair at that site over the next five to ten years.
Why kerb lintels break at the same corners
In short: a lintel that has been broken once is evidence that the conditions which broke it are still there.
A kerb lintel spans the opening of a stormwater pit: a gully pit or kerb inlet pit in the kerb and gutter in NSW, or a side entry pit in the kerb and channel in Victoria. Kerb lintels are designed for the loads of a standard kerb, not for heavy vehicles driving over them. At some locations, trucks and buses regularly “clip” the corner or verge where the lintel sits. Damage at these sites is rarely a one-off.
The common reasons heavy vehicles clip a kerb:
- The road is too narrow for the vehicle to turn without mounting the kerb.
- The corner radius is too tight for the vehicles using it.
- High traffic volumes or queued traffic stop the vehicle swinging wide to make the turn.
- Traffic light poles, cameras or other street furniture force the vehicle over the kerb.
- Road blisters or other traffic devices block the path the vehicle would otherwise take.
- The way the road is used has changed, for example a new bus route or development.
- The lintel installed is not rated for the loads at that site.
- Unusually heavy or oversize loads, such as trucks carrying wind turbine blades, have to use the corner.
When a wheel load exceeds what the precast lintel can carry, the concrete cracks and eventually breaks. Replacing it with the same type of lintel does not change any of these conditions. How quickly it breaks again depends on the volume of traffic and how much of it is trucks and buses. Where truck and bus traffic is high, a concrete lintel is often replaced several times a year.
What a broken concrete lintel costs a council
In short: a typical concrete lintel repair costs a council about $14,900, and the lintel itself is only $1,500 of that.
The lintel itself is only part of the cost. Every repair at a problem site involves:
| Cost item | Typical cost per repair |
|---|---|
| Replacement precast concrete lintel | $1,500 |
| Crew, truck, excavator and concrete formwork | $8,000 |
| Traffic control, 3 days | $4,500 |
| Inspection, reporting, quoting and approvals | $900 |
| Total per repair | $14,900 |
There are also costs that do not show up on the works order:
- Pedestrian safety. Broken concrete can expose the pit opening, which a person can step or fall into.
- Drainage and flooding. Debris falls into the pit and blocks the inlet, so water collects on the road in heavy rain instead of draining away.
- Road hazards. Loose concrete blocks and reo can end up on the roadway.
- Staff time. Fielding complaints, inspecting, getting budget approval and engaging contractors, every time the same lintel breaks.
- Preventative savings. Where unusually heavy loads are planned, upgrading the lintel beforehand avoids the damage, the repair and the delays altogether.
Worked example: one corner with high truck and bus traffic, over a year
In short: at a busy truck and bus corner, three concrete repairs in a year cost $44,700 or more. One ENCAT steel lintel costs $4,900 supplied and fitted.
The figures below are from council sources, for a corner with high truck and bus traffic. Every corner is different. At the Dapto corner in our project, each concrete replacement lasted between 1 week and 6 months.
| Replace concrete lintel | ENCAT lintel upgrade | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per installation | $14,900 | $4,900 |
| Installations in a year | 3 or more | 1 |
| Total in a year | $44,700 or more | $4,900 |
| Site visits and traffic control setups | 3 or more | 1 |
One concrete repair costs about three times as much as an ENCAT lintel supplied and fitted. So at a site where the lintel breaks every few months, the steel lintel has paid for itself the first time a concrete replacement is avoided.
How to identify sites worth upgrading
In short: start with the lintels you have already repaired more than once.
Not every lintel needs to be steel. Look for these signs:
- The same lintel has been replaced more than once.
- Tyre marks or scuffing on the kerb face and top of the kerb at a corner.
- The corner is on a bus route, freight route or in an industrial area.
- Chipping or cracking along the front edge of a lintel that has not yet failed.
- A change in traffic, such as a new development, depot or bus route nearby.
- Repeated complaints about the same drain.
- Unusually heavy or oversize loads are planned to use the corner.
A simple approach is to filter your maintenance records for lintels repaired more than once in the last 5 years. Those are the sites where an upgrade will save money first.
Upgrading before the damage happens
In short: where heavy or oversize loads are planned, fitting a steel lintel first costs less than repairing a broken one afterwards.
A steel lintel does not have to wait for a concrete one to break. Near the Port of Newcastle, we fitted ENCAT lintels over concrete lintels that were still intact. A customer was transporting wind turbine blades around one particular corner, and the trucks and trailers had to drive over the kerb to make the turn.
Fitting the steel lintels first stopped the drain collapsing under those loads. That prevented:
- damage to the lintel, pit and kerb
- transport delays if a truck got stuck on a broken lintel
- damage to the trucks and trailers.
If unusually heavy or oversize loads are planned around a corner, upgrading the lintel first costs less than repairing it afterwards.
Comparing the options
In short: a steel lintel is one of four options, and the right one depends on the site.
Replacing like for like, fitting a higher rated precast unit, fitting a steel lintel and redesigning the corner each suit different sites. We compare them, and explain how to get a steel lintel approved where your standard drawing specifies a precast concrete lintel, in A steel alternative to precast concrete kerb lintels.
See a steel lintel installed
In short: the video shows a broken concrete lintel at Dapto and the steel lintel that replaced it, fitted in about an hour.
This corner at Dapto had a concrete lintel broken repeatedly by trucks and buses. It was replaced with an ENCAT steel lintel in about an hour. Read the full project.
Getting a problem site assessed
In short: send us photos and the drain length, and we will tell you whether steel suits the site and what it will cost.
Send us photos of the damaged lintel and the corner, the length of the drain opening, and whether the kerb is straight or curved. We will tell you whether a steel lintel suits the site and what it will cost.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to replace a kerb lintel?
A precast concrete lintel replacement typically costs a council $14,900 including the lintel, crew and plant, three days of traffic control and approvals. An ENCAT steel lintel is $4,900 ex GST supplied and fitted for a standard 2.4m length.
Why do kerb lintels break?
Usually because heavy vehicles drive over them at corners that are too tight or too narrow for the vehicle to turn without mounting the kerb. The cyclic wheel loads are higher than the concrete lintel is designed for.
How often does a broken kerb lintel need replacing?
It depends on the volume of traffic and how much of it is trucks and buses. Where truck and bus traffic is high, a concrete lintel is often replaced several times a year. At our Dapto site, each concrete replacement lasted between 1 week and 6 months.
Who is responsible for repairing a broken kerb lintel?
On local roads it is generally the local council. On state roads it is generally the state road authority, which is Transport for NSW in NSW.
Can a steel lintel be fitted without rebuilding the drain?
Yes. The ENCAT lintel is fitted over the existing lintel, so the pit, kerb and drainage stay as they are.
How long does a steel lintel last?
We estimate a service life of more than 100 years for the hot dip galvanised steel lintel.
