eli5 why are manhole covers in the middle of the road and not on the sidewalk?

Question

eli5 why are manhole covers in the middle of the road and not on the sidewalk?

In: 622

Answer 1

Manhole covers are all over the place. Have you never seen a storm drain built into the sidewalk next to a road? Most of them have manhole covers on top so they can be unclogged when too much debris washes into them.

You think manhole covers are in the middle of the road and not on the sidewalk because of your confirmation bias: you only remember the ones that fit your foregone conclusion.