Culvert problems

[jcummins]

Well…got a culvert problem. My place has a wooded creek coming up the middle of it about ¾ of the way. Near the bottom of the pasture, there is a cut in the woods, probably from logging operations in the past. When I bought this place the former owners had dumped a load of large, hand size, rock into the creek in this cut. It washed out about a year later. About a year ago, I welded together some steel pipe, and put that in place, repacked the culvert with existing rock and the black gumbo soil. I thought I had it licked. It seem firmed packed, and I was happy, until this last group of rains.

How would you go about repair this? Bear in mind, I'm retired, broke, and got to do this with minimal dollars. But this crossing is really handy getting from the front to back pasture without having to go all the way around. Really want to keep something in place.

I wish I had a picture before the damage, but this first picture is the upside of the culvert. You can see I have railroad ties above the culvert, with tpost in front of the ties. Both sides use to look like this, but more firmed packed than the picture shows now. The upside eroded, but nothing like the downside.

The downside, almost 1/2 of the rock and dirt washed out, ties gone, tpost folded over.

At the height of the flooding…still raining a bit, I went out with the camera. The water is I'm guessing a foot over the top of the ground.

 

[Rangenerd]

simple, you need to put in a larger pipe.

 

[jcummins]

It took me awhile to find the pipe for what's there....I'd have to measure but I bet it 30 inches or so. Don't think I can afford a 5 foot diameter pipe.

 

[dun]

It took me awhile to find the pipe for what's there....I'd have to measure but I bet it 30 inches or so. Don't think I can afford a 5 foot diameter pipe.

Then put in a bunch of 30 inch pipes. You would still have to face both sides and up and down stream a ways with concrete to stop the erosion. Or lay cement over the whole deal and lower it so that it's a ford when you get very much water through it.

 

[jcummins]

It took me awhile to find the pipe for what's there....I'd have to measure but I bet it 30 inches or so. Don't think I can afford a 5 foot diameter pipe.

Then put in a bunch of 30 inch pipes. You would still have to face both sides and up and down stream a ways with concrete to stop the erosion. Or lay cement over the whole deal and lower it so that it's a ford when you get very much water through it.

Yes been thinking of lowering it. Within three hours after the rain, the water was all gone. It took me three years to find that pipe without paying an exorbitant price for it. I'll have to keep my eyes out for more of it.... Problem is everything I think of cost to many dollars. Maybe I should just make a ford out of the whole shebang.

 

[Florida cattle]

jcummins looks like you need to keep looking for some more pipe, but until then repair it but on one end of the crossing make a low area for a emergancy overflow (think spill way on a pond) so on the regular rain the pipe can handle it but when you get the flood the overflow will work and save your crossing. Your local NRCS technican should be able to help with this if you need it.

 

[dun]

I don;t know what the vehicle approaches are like, but a friend of mine bouaght an old used up house trailer and stripped to use as a bridge over an area that kept washing out. Poured concrete footings at either end and moved it on to place.

 

[jcummins]

I don;t know what the vehicle approaches are like, but a friend of mine bouaght an old used up house trailer and stripped to use as a bridge over an area that kept washing out. Poured concrete footings at either end and moved it on to place.

LOL....I'd like a picture of that. Then I could get an idea of what type, color of trailer would fit best in my pasture.

What really needs to be done, is a dam built for a small lake....it would make a dandy one.

On edit: Now instead of a house trailer....an old flatbed...hmmmm.

 

[dun]

I don;t know what the vehicle approaches are like, but a friend of mine bouaght an old used up house trailer and stripped to use as a bridge over an area that kept washing out. Poured concrete footings at either end and moved it on to place.

LOL....I'd like a picture of that. Then I could get an idea of what type, color of trailer would fit best in my pasture.

What really needs to be done, is a dam built for a small lake....it would make a dandy one.

On edit: Now instead of a house trailer....an old flatbed...hmmmm.

Old house trailer was cheaper. He had thought of just taking out the ends and making it a covered bridge but thought better of ity when it collpaes the sides when he started tearing out one end.

 

[novatech]

The place I take care of a place that has several like this. We did what dun said and cured the problem.

Then put in a bunch of 30 inch pipes. You would still have to face both sides and up and down stream a ways with concrete to stop the erosion. Or lay cement over the whole deal and lower it so that it's a ford when you get very much water through it.

 

[jcummins]

The place I take care of a place that has several like this. We did what dun said and cured the problem.

Then put in a bunch of 30 inch pipes. You would still have to face both sides and up and down stream a ways with concrete to stop the erosion. Or lay cement over the whole deal and lower it so that it's a ford when you get very much water through it.

Which on...lower it and make a ford out of it? or the other? Concrete is $$$$$.

 

[marimus]

Some large-ish rocks will go a long way to stopping the erosion instead of concrete.

How large will depend on how fast the water moves - amazing stuff water, when you double the speed the carrying capacity increases 5 fold.

Anyway, on the lower side where you can see the water churning up and eating away at the crossing, some rocks would help breakup the flow and stop the erosion.

Rocks are free, at least around here - you just gotta pick em up.

 

[Jogeephus]

It took me awhile to find the pipe for what's there....I'd have to measure but I bet it 30 inches or so. Don't think I can afford a 5 foot diameter pipe.

Find someone who has pulled a 1000 gal tank out of the ground and cut the ends off and drop it in then fill. If its too wide, cut it in half brace the bottoms by tacking some rod to the cut ends and lay it in there like a half moon. It would help to coat it with tar but last one I did this way I didn't do this and its been in place for 10 years now and no problems.

edit: You could get tanks like this for nothing. I got several you could have if you were closer.

 

[novatech]

The place I take care of a place that has several like this. We did what dun said and cured the problem.

Then put in a bunch of 30 inch pipes. You would still have to face both sides and up and down stream a ways with concrete to stop the erosion. Or lay cement over the whole deal and lower it so that it's a ford when you get very much water through it.

Which on...lower it and make a ford out of it? or the other? Concrete is $$$$$.

We lowered ours and put concrete over the top and down the sides. When we have big rains the water can be up to 10 feet over the top.
I don,t trust a trailer house frame. I have seen to many of them brake in half just going down the road. If you try and go over with a bridge then I would strongly advise consulting with an engineer.

 

[BeefmasterB]

The place I take care of a place that has several like this. We did what dun said and cured the problem.

Then put in a bunch of 30 inch pipes. You would still have to face both sides and up and down stream a ways with concrete to stop the erosion. Or lay cement over the whole deal and lower it so that it's a ford when you get very much water through it.

Which on...lower it and make a ford out of it? or the other? Concrete is $$$$$.

Concrete is your best bet as has been mentioned. One of my neighbors concreted his on both sides and over the top, and it's held. The Trinity area is notorious for fast rising waters so a crossing that just lets the water run over is your cheapest option I think.

 

[grannysoo]

More pipe!

 

[jcummins]

You could lower it, pour concrete footings and fill with some decent size rock for a good low water crossing (fording).

After posting and thinking about this, and reading the comments...I'm leaning towards something like this.

The footings...are you saying on the ends, in line with the ends of the culvert...cap that around the culvert? Where I had the ties, thinking of pulling them, cutting the height to say 6 inches above the top of the culvert, and pour concrete around the ends of the culvert to hold everything together. When the water is over the top of the culvert...I ain't going thru there anyway, to wet then to do much outside. Like I mentioned earlier, I was very surprise how quickly the water was gone, given how high it was.

 

[denoginnizer]

I used an old railroad car on a crossing like that and it worked great. No concrete footins at all . I think I posted a picture on here somewhere with Willy standing on top of it.

 

[rockridgecattle]

what about some 45 gallon barrels or drums. You can get used ones cheap at auctions or even free. Ours has been in for years, and years and years. The stack mover goes over it, cows, four wheeler, the feeding tractors, so the barrels can handle the weight. We, actually father in law cut the ends out and welded them together. Then he went to the stone piles, a dime a dozen out here and covered with stone, then clay and then gravel. When he built our bridge, he put large rocks, boulders, for soil erosion around the area. It sees water every spring and fall.