BACKGROUND

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) relied heavily on a failing, extensively corroded metal culvert for a variety of uses. Running beneath a main thoroughfare near Fort Morgan, CO, the culvert serves as a primary drainage structure during storm events and a flow source for runoff from a major irrigation canal. It is not only owned by the state, but also by Morgan County and a private sugar company.

“The culvert had deteriorated and even became somewhat ovalized running under the highway as well as a bike path,” said Russ Wosk, an ISCO Industries Snap-Tite representative. “There was a fear that it could completely fail – this would cause a road to collapse and create a big problem with the nearby canal.”

And since the highway is a main thoroughfare, it would have been costly and inconvenient to dig up and replace the failing corrugated metal pipe (CMP).

Sticky Note

A main highway, a major irrigation canal, and a multi-use, failing corrugated metal pipe equal a big problem for CDOT. Or it did before a CDOT crew used 229-feet of 42-inch Snap-Tite pipe to line the extremely deteriorated culvert without highway delays, road closures, or water flow issues.

WHY Snap-Tite®?

Made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe, Snap-Tite offered a high-quality, simple and effective solution. The machined male and female pipe ends are “snapped” together, piece-by-piece, on site using come-a-longs and chains – no fusion required. Once the Snap-Tite pipes are joined, they are slipped inside the old culvert. Any annular space or voids between the old culvert and new liner are then filled in with grout.

The CDOT crew completely rehabilitated the culvert and avoided road closures, highway delays, and water flow issues. Using 229-feet of 42-inch Snap-Tite HDPE pipe liner, CDOT maintenance crews slip-lined the existing 54-inch CMP. And due to the ease of construction, the crew performed the work themselves saving Morgan County time and money. SonFill completed the annular grouting between the existing CMP and the new Snap-Tite liner on site.