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SALT LAKE CITY — Culverts are critical to the stability of our roads, and the Utah Department of Transportation now knows a lot more about them.
Across the state, there are thousands of these passageways that allow water flows under the road. UDOT engineer Jessica Andrews traveled nearly every mile of state road over the last four years searching for them.
"You spend pretty much your whole day staring out the window, looking for culverts," she said.
UDOT needed to better understand the condition of every culvert to budget for replacement and repairs.
"We didn't know how many we had, for sure," explained Tim Rose, a UDOT regional deputy director. "We didn't know what material they were made of, and we didn't know where they all were."
Estimates ranged from 40,000 to 60,000 culverts as Andrews and her crews set out to find solid numbers.
The team recorded the GPS locations and assessed the structural condition. They checked metal for corrosion. Several culverts are made of wood, others blasted in rock.
"One small problem in a culvert, if not treated, it can lead to a catastrophic failure on the road," Andrews said.
"If it culverts clog up," Rose added, "if they are not working properly, the subgrade underneath the pavement gets saturated; and that tends to ruin the pavement quicker."
Across the state, Andrews said she found snakes, animal carcasses, and people inside a box culvert. She even discovered a critter or two staring back at her.
But the most important discovery made, Rose said, is that Utah's culverts "are in better condition than we ever thought they were." In fact, only 10- to 15 percent need attention soon.
Andrews started the project as a college intern and ended up with a full-time job. "After doing it so long, it became second nature," Andrews said. "I can't drive down the road today without thinking there's a culvert."
In all, the team logged 27,000 culverts statewide. There's one they plan to repair soon on I-80 in Parleys Canyon.
