Every section of Price Brothers concrete pressure pipe is truly built to last for many decades. That fact is just as important to every pipeline owner and engineer as it is to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Recent Cost Analysis Guide advises concrete pipe will serve up to twice as long as steel or aluminum pipe

It's right there in the latest engineering and design manual for conduits, culverts and pipes, published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"During the design process, selection of materials or products for conduits, culverts, or pipes should be based on engineering requirements and life cycle performance...

"In general, concrete pipe can be expected to provide service life approximately two times that of steel or aluminum." The Guide says that a designer "should not expect a product service life of greater than 50 years" for either steel or aluminum.

For the many small dams the Corps builds every year, the recommendation is very specific: "Pipe through small dams should be concrete pressure pipe, steel cylinder type. Pipe joints should be deep or extra deep with steel joint rings and solid O-ring gaskets."

While Price Brothers engineers always avoid claiming any specific service life for prestressed concrete cylinder pipe, we can't disagree with the Army engineers' view. After all, a growing number of Price Brothers PCCP installations have already passed the half-century mark for continuous, always reliable performance.

The Corps document also states, "for major infrastructure projects, designers should use a minimum project service life of 100 years when considering life cycle design."

As you've just read, only concrete pipe was judged by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to have a projected service life of 70 to 100 years. Even with coatings, steel and aluminum pipe were given a design life expectancy of 50 years.