By John Ford, Engineer and Director, ENCAT Australia
Updated 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 the ENCAT truck resistant kerb lintel installed at this site.
A corner that kept breaking lintels
This concrete kerb lintel sits on a tight-radius corner at Station Street, Dapto, where trucks and buses regularly run over the kerb to make the turn. It had been broken and repaired several times. We replaced it with an ENCAT steel lintel in about an hour. The video shows the damage, why concrete repairs here kept failing, and the finished steel lintel.
Project snapshot
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Client | Wollongong City Council |
| Location | Station Street and Bong Bong Road, Dapto NSW |
| Road | Council road |
| Site | Tight-radius corner next to Dapto train station and Dapto Leagues Club |
| Problem | Concrete lintel repeatedly broken by heavy vehicles |
| Previous repairs | Repaired repeatedly. Each concrete replacement lasted between 1 week and 6 months. |
| Solution | ENCAT truck resistant steel kerb lintel, 1500mm, straight |
| Lintel replaced | Precast concrete lintel |
| Pit and kerb | Existing pit and kerb kept in place. ENCAT lintels can be made to suit all pit types and kerb profiles. |
| Time on site | About 1 hour |
| Installed | October 2026 |
| Expected repair costs | None, based on previous ENCAT installations |
The problem
In short: buses and trucks could not make the turn without their rear wheels running over the kerb and the precast lintel.
“We’re here at another drainage lintel that’s been damaged by traffic. You can see it’s all broken away, which is typical of a lintel that’s been driven over with heavy loads like trucks and buses.”
The corner radius here is too tight for buses and trucks to complete the busy turn without their rear wheels running over the kerb. Each time they do, the full wheel load goes onto the precast concrete lintel, which is not designed to carry it.
The result was a lintel that was cracked and broken away, with concrete debris falling into the pit. It left sharp, jagged concrete next to the busy footpath and intersection, with reo bar protruding dangerously from the concrete.
Why concrete repairs kept failing
In short: each new concrete lintel faced the same wheel loads, so it broke the same way.
“The problem with repairing these lintels is that if you repair it with concrete within a short period of time, they just get broken again. So, it’s a waste of time and money.”
Replacing the lintel with another precast concrete lintel does not increase the load capacity. It is vulnerable to repeated damage if the same vehicles drive over it. How long a concrete replacement lasts depends on the volume of traffic and how much of it is trucks and buses. At this busy bus and truck corner, each concrete replacement lasted between 1 week and 6 months.
The road design, the bus route and the traffic stayed the same, so the lintel needed to be able to carry the loads imposed on it.
The installation
In short: a straight 1500mm steel lintel, made in our Unanderra factory and fitted over the existing lintel in about an hour.
We measured the site, manufactured a straight 1500mm steel lintel to suit the existing pit and kerb, and installed it in about an hour. ENCAT lintels can be made to suit all pit types and kerb profiles, straight or curved.
- Measure the lintel using the latest measuring technology.
- Engineer the solution, taking into account water flow and any interferences.
- 3D model the site in CAD and produce manufacturing drawings.
- Laser cut and weld the lintel at the ENCAT factory.
- Hot dip galvanise.
- Apply for a road occupancy licence if required.
- Tell the customer we are ready to install, and request approval.
- Set up traffic and pedestrian control.
- Arrive with a crane truck and a van or ute.
- Remove the broken concrete and clean it into a recycling bin.
- Drill the installation fixings.
- Install the ENCAT drainage lintel.
- Tighten the fixings.
- Clean the site, remove traffic control and leave.
Crew: 3. Traffic control: 2.
The result
In short: the lintel now carries the bus and truck loads that kept breaking the concrete.
“We’ve just finished installing this lintel. It took us about an hour. It’s now repaired and will never need replacing again. It will handle loads of buses and trucks and whatever vehicle loads that come across this drain.”
Based on previous installations of the ENCAT steel kerb lintel, there won’t be any maintenance or repair costs required at this corner.
“It’s a simple, easy solution, and we never have to repair the lintel again.”
What this corner was costing
In short: three concrete repairs in a year cost $44,700. The steel lintel cost $4,900, once.
| Before: concrete replacements | After: ENCAT lintel | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost each time, supplied and fitted | $14,900 | $4,900 |
| Number of times in a year | Several (each lasted 1 week to 6 months) | Once |
| Total in a year, at 3 replacements | $44,700 | $4,900 |
Read more: why kerb lintels keep breaking, and what repeat repairs cost councils. If your standard drawing specifies a precast lintel, see a steel alternative to precast concrete kerb lintels.
Earlier installations
In short: ENCAT lintels are installed for councils across NSW, including Armidale, Northern Beaches, Newcastle and Wollongong.
ENCAT lintels have also been installed for many councils, including Armidale, Northern Beaches, Newcastle and Wollongong.
