Advancing the Use of Culverts as Highway Bridges
There are several ways to define a culvert as opposed to a bridge. Span length, hydraulic performance, and presence of earth fill are a few. A growing number of state highway agencies are choosing to use “culverts” (as defined by presence of earth over-fill) as bridges (span length over 20 feet).
In fact, a recent workshop at the 2013 Transportation Research Board (TRB) annual meeting was devoted entirely to the advantages of using culverts or buried structures as bridges. This concept is growing in popularity in many parts of the country. The four-hour session titled “Advancing the use of Culverts as Highway Bridges” featured many of the leading researchers, designers, and users of buried bridges. Several case studies including an ECO-SPAN arch installation highlighted many ways these structures are saving money for bridge owners.
Case studies deomonstrated the following advantages:
- Adaptability: Easily extended to accomodate roadway widening.
- Initial Cost: Often significant money is saved compared to conventional bridge construction.
- Durability: Examples of extremely long-lasting concrete structures that provided significant life-cycle savings compared to conventional construction.
- Maintenance: Elimination of bridge deck maintenance was emphasized.
- Speed of Construction: FHWA Accelerated Bridge Construction funds were used in one example.
TRB Committee AFF70 plans to post the powerpoint slides from the workshop on their site and we will provide a link here when available.