Steel smooth walled culvert fixing grade.
Steel smooth walled culvert fixing grade.
(OP)
A contractor bored and installed a 150 foot steel smooth walled culvert under a secondary higheway. The grade on the culvert is flowing the wrong way.The contractor is proposing the fix the problem by digging and exposing the high end of the culvert to the road and with a welding/cutting torch removing small bands of steel. I don't know exactly how this works--I think by removing some of the steel from underneath the pipe the pipe will weaken and drop down. Anyone ever heard of this?





RE: Steel smooth walled culvert fixing grade.
What is the grade?
How deep and what size is the culvert?
If the Contractor made the mistake, have the Contractor install a new culvert.
RE: Steel smooth walled culvert fixing grade.
RE: Steel smooth walled culvert fixing grade.
RE: Steel smooth walled culvert fixing grade.
At this point the problem becomes more of an insurance/ legal issue - and the contract specs should state how these problems are to be resolved. It may be arbitration, or some other form of dispute resolution. The bonding and insurance companies should be notified immediately. Don't try to be a nice guy and let the contractor get by without fixing his mistakes properly. If that culvert collapses in the future, you will be to blame.
The most logical solution seems to be to drill an new culvert parallel to the existing pipe - and this time it should be installed properly. You will have to modify the inflow and outflow structures to accommodate the change in culvert location (I hope that is possible).
RE: Steel smooth walled culvert fixing grade.
RE: Steel smooth walled culvert fixing grade.
That is a duct tape and bailing wire fix. You use tricks like that when you need a quick fix. This is new construction and the job should be performed according to plans and specs. Besides, there is a good likelihood that sediment will build up in the pipe which would at best be a maintenance problem - and at worse, upstream flooding or washout of the culvert.
RE: Steel smooth walled culvert fixing grade.
Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.
WWW.amlinereast.com
RE: Steel smooth walled culvert fixing grade.
1) Analyze the as-built pipe to see if it takes the design flow
2) Line the pipe (i.e. install a new culvert inside the old one, or install culvert liner plate), which would obviously create a higher and smaller opening