Work finished in Indy to lock down manhole covers

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indianapolis utility plagued by manhole explosions that have raised concerns about public safety during the Super Bowl has finished attaching safety locks to cast-iron manhole covers in the city’s downtown area.

The Indianapolis Star reports that Indianapolis Power & Light Co., said Thursday that it installed locks on 150 manhole covers. Fifty of those are near a Super Bowl Village that will draw thousands of fans beginning in a week, while others are in high-traffic areas near Lucas Oil Stadium.

The locks cost $1,200 each and prevent the steel lids from lifting more than 3 inches in the event of an underground utility explosion.

The utility has been bedeviled by a series of explosions since 2010 that sent manhole covers flying.