Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
(OP)
hello everyone. i'm new to this forum.
wanted to see if anyone had a tip on my question:
i have 3 culverts that are being replaced under a highway. diameters are 18", 24" and 36". The location is a mountainous, river canyon - roadway is approximately 100' above the river - 2:1 slope down to the river.
pipes are at 45-degree angles on average. outlets cannot be located easily. and maintenance is an issue due to the terrain.
so, we're replacing them with new pipes.
but, we need to abandon them. excavation is not an option (excavation would be huge/deep).
foam?
lean concrete?
other?
due to the depth of the pipes under the roadway..i'm not too concerend about a void leading to settlement or anything. that is, if a void was created when/if the metal pipe corroded away at some point in the distant future.
any advice/input would be great.
thanks
wanted to see if anyone had a tip on my question:
i have 3 culverts that are being replaced under a highway. diameters are 18", 24" and 36". The location is a mountainous, river canyon - roadway is approximately 100' above the river - 2:1 slope down to the river.
pipes are at 45-degree angles on average. outlets cannot be located easily. and maintenance is an issue due to the terrain.
so, we're replacing them with new pipes.
but, we need to abandon them. excavation is not an option (excavation would be huge/deep).
foam?
lean concrete?
other?
due to the depth of the pipes under the roadway..i'm not too concerend about a void leading to settlement or anything. that is, if a void was created when/if the metal pipe corroded away at some point in the distant future.
any advice/input would be great.
thanks





RE: Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
RE: Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
RE: Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
However, if you own stock in a cement company or have extra funds available, go for the lean concrete.
RE: Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
RE: Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
RE: Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
given the steepness and confined/difficult/steep working terrain - that's an issue.
also, the steepness of the pipes - many, many years ago when this was a forest service road...they just threw the pipes in then backfilled until they had a benched in road.
i like the idea of just pressure grouting them under the roadway, and then capping it off.
trouble is blocking the downslope end.
suppose the contractor could get on teh downslope side. find the end of the pipe...cut the bottom away...and block it with a temporary earthen damn. .
has anyone ever had experience with "foam" products such as uretek?
http://www
things i want to see from the abandonment:
1)void is filled IF metal pipe is to corrode away. i.e. material is inert. under the roadway only. filling entire pipe not necessary.
2)does this material need to be hydroinsensitive? or, would putting a good cap at the inlet prevent an water intrusion and be sufficient. probably the later. put on a good, water tight cap.
i am in the process of writing a spec for this. so, whether it's done with concrete, pressure grout, foam, other. i just need to lay out the specs we want with the abandonment.
thanks again for everyone's help. the construction of this should be interesting. we'll see what the contractor proposes to do.
RE: Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
http://www.matjack.com/plugs.htm
RE: Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
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RE: Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
RE: Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
have them set a rebar in the end of the pipe so you can locate the pipe in the future if you ever need to.
RE: Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
FILLING EXISTING CULVERTS
This work shall consist of filling the existing culverts as shown on the plans, and as directed by the Engineer.
The existing culverts shall be sealed at the ends with concrete or masonry and filled with a grout mixture in a manner meeting the approval of the Engineer. The grout mixture shall be pumped into the culvert from the ends with the seals sequenced to provide the flow and release of air as the structure is filled. Equipment and methods used to perform this work shall meet the approval of the Engineer. This work shall be paid for at the contract unit price per cubic yard for PLUG EXISTING CULVERTS which price shall include all labor, materials and equipment necessary to complete the work herein specified.
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/oppd/dib/dib83-5.htm
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RE: Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
Therefore, I guess someone keeping up somehow with amount ofgrout and where it goes might also be advisable, and maybe particularly if pipes are in real bad shape and there is any chance escaping grout might not necessarily come to the surface!
RE: Techniques to Abandon Culverts under Roadway
these are corrugated metal pipes - 40-50 years in age - best guess.
we video inspected the pipes. there is rust observed in the bottoms. no evidence of being fully eroded YET..but other pipes along roadway has show this type of wear.
main reason to replace these steep pipes is the difficulty in maintaining them.
the outfalls are way down the slope - and the maintenance guys have not and won't maintain due to this difficulty.
we won't have a chance to deal with these pipes for a long, long time..so, the time to replace them is now.
thanks for all the input. really good ideas/points here.
still, trying to write this spec. really appreciate the spec posted by bimr. good starting point for me.
thanks!