Culvert Rehabilitation: Protecting the Hidden Heroes of Infrastructure
Infrastructure is the backbone of modern life- it helps prevent roadway floods, keeps sewage out of the streets, and provides transportation to many. But what if one of those vital structures didn’t work, like culverts? Culverts provide a way for water to be transported, whether its storm water draining off streets or allowing a stream to continue running underneath a road instead of over it. Without culverts, our roadways would be far less expansive, stopping where streams and rivers start. Or even scarier, stormwater would have nowhere to escape to and would flood streets, roads, and highways far more often. In this article, you’ll discover how culvert rehabilitation can provide much needed maintenance for these important structures.
Why Should Culverts be Maintained?
The care and maintenance of culverts impact the functioning of our society on a daily basis. As aforementioned, these structures help contribute to the safe use of our roads, helping to prevent floods and supporting the continuity of our natural surroundings. Without maintenance, culverts can crack, leak, and fail. In some cases, leaking culverts can result in soil loss. When soil loss continues, it allows the growth of voids, and left unchecked could even end with sinkholes. When it comes to culverts, maintenance and prevention is key.
Culvert Damage
Consistent and regular inspections can allow cities and municipalities to catch problems in culverts before they have catastrophic effects. During inspections, if any of these problem signs are noticed, polyurethane culvert rehabilitation should be considered:
- Cracks
- Soil infiltration
- Water infiltration through cracks or joints, where water is not intended to enter into the culvert
- Soil loss from around the culvert
- Sinking or cracking or surface structures
- Joints that are not flush
- Rust or visible corrosion
Culvert Rehabilitation by USG
Remediating culverts does not have to be overly complicated. Polyurethane injection culvert rehabilitation is a reliable solution that seals, eliminates inflow and infiltration, and stops soil loss. During this service, our team begins inspections and testing to locate problem areas and develop an injection plan. Then holes are drilled for injection, sometimes above ground or through the culvert, depending on the location of the problem areas. Through these holes, injection rods are inserted and polyurethane chemical grout is pumped through as a liquid. This liquid reacts and sets as a foam which will seal joints, cracks, and form a barrier to water or soil intrusion. It also reestablishes soil connectivity, forming a dense soil-polyurethane matrix that fills voids and prevents sinkholes.
In addition to preventing soil loss through erosion and soil grouting as stated above, USG can also provide in place rehabilitation of the pipe/culvert itself, thus maximizing your maintenance dollars. Whether it’s the use of specialized epoxy coatings to slow down or stop corrosion, a micro-silica enhanced high-strength concrete, geopolymer coatings, or a combination of these—USG specializes in assessing the condition of pipes and culverts. From there, our team helps select the appropriate rehabilitation method. While these methods are not a new pipe/culvert, they do provide a long-term solution.
USG: The Intersection of People, Safety, Service, and Technology
Our team at USG offers culvert rehabilitation as well as other infrastructure services. We have experience, equipment, and the know how to get these crucial repairs done right, all with precision and care. We understand the importance of these structures and the purpose they serve in our communities. Choose the team that can complete the job with minimal disruption, long-term results, and expert fluency in projects like these. At USG, we are the intersection of people, safety, service, and technology.