Creek Culvert

[TNhobbyfarmer]

I have a creek that runs through my place. It only flows during wet periods but can have a pretty rigorous flow after a heavy rain. I cross the creek on my tractor without any problem whether it is dry or flowing.

I want to contract with the local co-op to bring and spread a load of lime. To get to where I want it, they will have to cross the creek. The opposite bank is fairly steep and probably too treacherous for them to be willing to try to get a heavy truckload of lime across.

My thought is to lay plastic culvert in the middle of the creek and fill on both sides and over the top to form a crossing place that will be less daunting. Do you think two 10' sections of 18" pipe laid side by side in the middle will be an acceptable solution? All thoughts and comments will be appreciated.

 

[tallyho8]

You might check specifications with the pipe company to see weight loads at specified burial depths. A large truck of lime could weigh 40 tons or more. Remember, a 24" pipe could handle about the same volume of water as two 18" and be much sturdier at the same time if buried at the same depth. The fill on the sides of the pipe are what gives it it's strength and must be packed and solid.

Regulations for putting a culvert in a creek may be different for temporary usage rather than permanent usage.

I'm sure you will get many more reccomendations shortly.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

You might check specifications with the pipe company to see weight loads at specified burial depths. A large truck of lime could weigh 40 tons or more. Remember, a 24" pipe could handle about the same volume of water as two 18" and be much sturdier at the same time if buried at the same depth. The fill on the sides of the pipe are what gives it it's strength and must be packed and solid.

Regulations for putting a culvert in a creek may be different for temporary usage rather than permanent usage.

I'm sure you will get many more reccomendations shortly.

I found the pipe at a Rural King which is close to where I intend to use it. They only sell 20' lengths, so my plan was to cut the 20 footer into two 10' lengths. One concern I have is the length. Do you think 10' is giving enough room to spare on each end for a large lime truck?

 

[workinallthetime]

i have had some experience with issues like this at several different places.
i found that a bridge over the small wet wether creek at my house worked great but i dont know your situation. I have also installed 36" plastic culvert pipe on a job i was doing. the plastic was very easy to handle but the cost was insane, I think the total feet of the 2 sections was about 30 feet and the cost for the stuff was about 2500.00. I have also built several low water crossings using free concrete culverts, large rocks and bags of concrete. that situation had steep banks on both sides that i cut down to get to the creek and work. You have to think about erosion when you place anything in a creek so going with a small pipe which causes the water to swirl around the entrance and shoot out the other end will cause problems at both ends.

how far across is the crossing
how deep is the crossing
do you have access to rock for "rip rap" at the up stream side
post a pic if you can

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

i have had some experience with issues like this at several different places.
i found that a bridge over the small wet wether creek at my house worked great but i dont know your situation. I have also installed 36" plastic culvert pipe on a job i was doing. the plastic was very easy to handle but the cost was insane, I think the total feet of the 2 sections was about 30 feet and the cost for the stuff was about 2500.00. I have also built several low water crossings using free concrete culverts, large rocks and bags of concrete. that situation had steep banks on both sides that i cut down to get to the creek and work. You have to think about erosion when you place anything in a creek so going with a small pipe which causes the water to swirl around the entrance and shoot out the other end will cause problems at both ends.

how far across is the crossing
how deep is the crossing
do you have access to rock for "rip rap" at the up stream side
post a pic if you can

1) About 12' across
2) About 1-2' of water when it is running strong
3) Yes I have access to riprap
4) I do not currently have a pic. It will be at least a couple of weeks before I will be able to take a pic.

 

[txdon]

When I got my lime, I ordered from the local fertilizer supplier. They dumped a large load near the front of my property and the Fertilizer Co. sent a spreader truck and a tractor with a FEL. (This is before I had my tractor.) The tractor loaded up the spreader truck. This truck was a big big wheeled truck that went up and down my pond dams, places that I would not even think of driving my tractor. You might want to ask your co op if they or a company around there has a spreader truck with big wide tires, you might not have to do anything to the creek.

 

[EddieWalker]

There is a rule of thumb for how much material you need above a culvert to get it's full strength. The culvert itself doesn't have very much strength, but the dirt all around it changes that and turns it into something very, very strong. The secret is packing the dirt all around the culvert and having enough above it.

Somebody might know this for sure, but I think you need half the width of the culvert in fill above it. So an 18 inch culvert will need a minimum of 9 inches of dirt above it.

With a 45 degree angle, your ten foot wide culvert will only have 7 1/2 feet of flat area to drive on. This is not enough and will lead to problems.

Even if you could build it up straight on the ends, you are not allowing any margin of error.

Anther thing to remember is that a large pipe will flow more water than two smaller ones. One 24 inch culvert will handle more water than two 18 inchers side by side.

From what you describe on you creekbed, I would think that a 36 inch culvert should be a minimum, and even then, expect it to wash away during an extreme storm sometime in your lifetime.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[workinallthetime]

http://www.cpp-pipe.com/pdf/CPP_Book_in_PDF.pdf

here is some good info on plastic culverts, a little technical but notice the picture where it says 35000 lbs per axel and look how they have placed it. 12 feet is a little big to build a bridge over w/o major cost. The stuff is real easy to work with, just expensive but then again not anymore than concrete ones.

 

[CurlyDave]

Somebody might know this for sure, but I think you need half the width of the culvert in fill above it. So an 18 inch culvert will need a minimum of 9 inches of dirt above it.

The number I remember is either 12" or half the diameter of the culvert, whichever is greater. The material of the culvert does not matter, plastic, galvanized, or concrete.

I have seen a lot of driveways with 36-48" culverts and less than 12" of fill on top, but I don't think anyone has ever put a heavy load on them.

I would be inclined to go with a 20' piece of the largest culvert you can afford. The idea of two pieces side-by-side is not really going to work that well.

 

[dirtworksequip]

hobbyfarmer, you are likely going to need at least 20 foot of culvert no matter what size you end up going with. Remember that as you put in fill around and over top of the culvert the dirt fill will be coming in at an angle not up vertically towards the center of the culvert which lessens the road width.The only way to bring up the fill vertically is to conlstruct a headwall. Using one culvert is always better than two. Two will tend to plug up with debris easier than one. Two feet of water is a good bit of water for even two 18 inch culverts, but that depends on the width of the stream and how much watershed area is above the point of use. Pics would be a great help. Don't install too small a culvert and think you are saving money.Do it right the first time. A big rain will washout your fill and culvert if not properly sized to handle the flow. All your time and effort will be washed downstream.