Page 18 - Demo

COUNTY COMMENT %u2022 November 2024 18continuedCulvert failure can lead to roadway collapse, flooding, or embankment washout. At minimum, culvert failure can result in road closures and traffic delays, and, at worst, can be life-threatening to the traveling public. Inspection of culverts is needed to maintain safe roadways. Regular routine inspections allow minor problems to be spotted and corrected before they become serious problems. Regular inspections reduce failure risk and allow for short-term and long-term planning and budgeting.Prioritizing which culverts to inspectGiven the considerable number of culverts in each county, inspecting all culverts in one season is likely impossible. Working with the completed culvert inventory in a spreadsheet or database, one can query and group culverts of a particular type or location that you feel warrant higher priority inspections. You may want to prioritize older metal culverts or the short-span bridge type structures with a deck on grade as opposed to buried culverts. Perhaps it is more important to start with inspections of culverts under higher traffic volume roadways or under roads that are slated for upcoming pavement work. Perhaps a change in traffic, such as for a newly active quarry, would prompt including culverts under haul roads to be included in an initial inspection group. The important thing is to start inspections of culverts you judge to be more critical, and work towards inspecting all culverts over a period of several years.What should we inspect for?A culvert inspection should evaluate three things about the culvert, (1) structural condition, (2) hydraulic performance, and (3) approach roadway and roadside compatibility. Inspecting and assessing structural conditions will be different for different culvert types and materials. For span culverts, the inspections will be similar to bridge inspections. Timber members should be checked for inherent deficiencies (checks, splits, and knots), fungi decay, insect damage, loose connections, and damage from overloads (crushing and cracking), fire, impact, wear, and weathering. Concrete slabs should be checked for cracking (flexure and shear), delamination, spalling, efflorescence, honeycombs, wear, and abrasions. Steel stringers need checking for corrosion, overloads, and coating failures. Figure 2. Check pipes for distortions, misaligned or disconnected pipe sections, and for material deterioration.