Tampa_City_Sole_Source_Letter_2026.pdf

This is a sole source letter from American Highway Products Ltd. to the City of Tampa's Mobility Department regarding pivoted turnbuckle steel expandable manhole risers. The City of Tampa has standardized on turnbuckle steel expandable manhole risers to achieve full circumferential engagement of manhole covers, thereby reducing hazardous cover displacements and ensuring equipment continuity, maintenance standardization, and streamlined training requirements. American Highway Products Ltd. asserts its position as the sole manufacturer capable of meeting the City's specifications, noting that their proprietary turnbuckle linkage design, pivoted at both ends, mechanically outperforms alternative expansion riser designs. The company can manufacture manhole risers with diameters of 13 inches and greater, heights of one-half inch increments or greater, and diameter adjustments of up to one inch. The company commits to shipping all orders within one week of receipt.

American Highway Products Ltd. has specialized in manhole riser manufacturing since 1978 and currently supplies all 50 states and Canada. The company manufactures its products in Ohio using domestic steel, ensuring compliance with the Made in America Act. The letter emphasizes the mechanical superiority of their design, which applies 5,600 pounds of circumferential force through a simple 60-pound screwdriver-applied turnbuckle mechanism, enabling installation on worn or out-of-round manhole frames. The solid one-piece riser design provides a flat seating surface for manhole covers and resists breakage from installation forces or uneven seating conditions.