The Problem

Interstates I-65 and I-94 in Northern Indiana are some of the busiest and most traveled roads in the state. The La Porte District Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) faced a problem because 13 of the corrugated metal pipe (CMP) culverts under these roads were in bad shape. Many had deteriorated and were failing. Some were even misshaped and no longer round but oval. The existing culvert sizes ranged from 30- by 46-inch to 72- by 102-inch oval CMP pipe and 48-inch to 84-inch round CMP culverts. This included a total of 2,257 linear feet of pipe that needed repair.

In order to prevent a road collapse, and therefore a major disruption to traffic, the INDOT district had to act quickly to make the repairs. The DOT also wanted to save money by purchasing the materials through the INDOT Maintenance Contract.

The Solution

Snap-Tite® representative Steve Cooney and Sam Martin of CPI Supply, a Snap-Tite® distributor, worked with the INDOT district to come up with the most cost-effective and practical approach for rehabilitating the 13 deteriorated CMP culverts.

Since many of the culverts were oval, Snap-Tite® provided an added benefit to this project. Snap-Tite® has the capability to oval round Snap-Tite® pipe liners with a machine prior to delivery to a project site. Also, the Snap-Tite® lining process does not require any special equipment so DOT crews can do the job without having to hire outside contractors. This saves both time and money during installation.

CPI supplied Snap-Tite® pipe liners ranged from 22- by 37-inch up to 65- by 95-inch pipe for the oval CMP pipe and 42-inch up to 63-inch pipe to line the round CMPs. The Snap-Tite® culvert lining system is made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe. Snap-Tite’s® patented male/female machining at each end of the HDPE allows the pipe ends to be ‘snapped’ together, piece-by-piece, and pushed into the full length of the existing pipe.

The pipe liner is available in lengths from two to 50 feet, and is available for culverts with diameters from eight inches to 84 inches.

Cost Savings and Installation

INDOT La Porte District Project Manager Rik Ritzler documented that using their own crew to install the pipe liner saved more than $1 million on the project, as opposed to hiring a contractor to do the work. It would have cost twice as much to reline all 13 culverts if the work was put out to bid.

To join Snap-Tite® in the field, often only a come-along and chains are needed. Since no specialty equipment was needed to install any of the 13 culverts, the INDOT crew was able to snap and line all the culverts without hiring an outside crew. CPI Supply and Snap-Tite® assisted and trained INDOT maintenance employees on how to install Snap-Tite® in the field, and the crew picked up the process quickly and was able to reline the culverts in a short amount of time – without disrupting traffic.

For each of the culverts, whether oval or round, the crew slid an initial Snap-Tite® liner section into the existing culvert, leaving one machined end outside of the culvert in order to snap on the next piece. Then, a second section of Snap-Tite® pipe was snapped to the first section and slid through the pipe. This process continued for each culvert until all the culverts were fully lined with Snap-Tite®. The Snap-Tite® pipe section lengths used on the project depended on how much working area the crews had for each individual culvert.

Finally, to fill any annular space between the old culverts and the new Snap-Tite® pipe liner, grout was pumped in through tubes situated in the space above the liner and below the CMP. Hired by CPI Supply, Temple and Temple Construction took care of the grouting process to complete the structures.

The installation of all 13 Snap-Tite® culvert lining systems was a success and the INDOT saved both money and time on the project.