A letter from Ohio Department of Transportation

Ohio Department of Transportation
Relining of Culvert Pipe Along the Highways of Ohio

     Well, the sun wasn't shining, nor was the sky blue.  It was kin of gray and misting, but it was still a beautiful day for a culvert lining job.  Lorain County gave me the opportunity to go out with the crew that was working on its first culvert lining project on SR 303.  I want to give my heartfelt thanks to Steve Brewer and his crew - Chad Frabotta, Jim Huffman, Steve Jacobcik, Dan Nehls, Jeff Wilson, and Mark Zywczyk -- for letting me get really muddy with them.  I particularly appreciate them allowing me to be there, because this was the first time they had performed a culvert lining job.  It's hard enough to do something new, without and audience.  For the record though, if they had not told me that this was the first culvert lining job for them, I would have never known, because they seemed to be doing a great job.

     Instead of tearing up the road, detouring traffic, replacing the culvert pipe, then repairing the road, this method allows the crew to get right to the point of their job - maintaining good drainage.  They don't need to break through the road; they don't need to route traffic.  Some digging is done to get to the pipe itself, and flaggers are setup to maintain traffic.  The pipe is brought to the site in sections.  As the pipe is fitted together, it's pushed through the existing culvert.  A long, narrow sock is placed on top of the pipe liner and is filled with a concrete-grout solution, which keeps the liner on the bottom.  The concrete-grout solution then is filled in the gaps between the liner and the existing culvert, around the sock.  I have to tell you -- I was fascinated watching them do this.  I just wish I could have been more help. The crew was great, though.  They didn't make me feel like I was in the way, and I did get to do a couple of things for them, including holding the sump pump hose so it wouldn't be quite as wet and muddy as it could have been.

-The Legend, December Vol. 12, 2001  Ohio DOT

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