Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1901-10-12
BUILDING CULVERTS.
SHOULD BE MADE TO TAKE EVERY
ADVANTAGE OF FALL.
Avoid Placing Pipes In Mudholes.
How the Excavation should BE
Mnde-POints on Intakes and Out
Iets-COnstructing Abutments.


Iets-Constructing Abutments.
Only the best grades of culyert pipes
Should be used and these so placed as
10 take every advantage Of Obtainable
fall and quickly handle the storm wa
ter that accumulates on the upper side
of the roadway, says an expert in The
Kansas Farmer. The placing of pipe
I'm mudhole and filling by dumping
upon it has made more trouble for road
II necessary to build n pipe culvert
where a mudhOle exists, it is better to
go to one side on the hard, firm ground
and excavate there n place for the pipe
rather than to attempt to fill the mud
hole, so as to obtain a solid bearing for
the pipe. In most places where it is
roadway n slight change can be made
at nominal expense to divert the course
of the water so it will go through the
culvert wherever the ground is most
suitable for it to be placed.
In eXcavating for culverts the upper
end or intake should be kept as high
as possible in order to retain all the
fall obtainable. The lower end should
not be lower than the ditch into which
it emptics, and the outfall of the ditch
should he such as will thoroughly
drain all storm water delivered by the
culvert. The excavation should have
sloping banks, the bottom being shap
ed to the contour of the pipe. EXca-
vationS should be made where the
sockets come. so that the pipe will seat
the entire length and not rest on the
socket end alone, thereby giving an I'M
even bearing on the pipe.
In laying pipe for culverts the road
builder should commence at the lower
ditch, with sockets up, and continue
laying section after section until the
culvert is across the roadway. Then
good abutmcnts Of large enough stone
so as not to be easily displaced should
be built around the end, the stone be-
ing carried from under up and around
over the pipe. At the lower end, if
much fall is obtained, a spillway
should be riprapped or paved with
stone to prevent the water from wash
ing out the lower section of pipe. In
filling in the cover over the pipe care
should be taken to preserve the align
ment of the flow line on the inside of
the pipe, so az to have Il regular, even
fall from the upper to the lower side.
The dirt should be carefully tampcd
under and around the pipe i'll layers.
There should not be less than two
hampers to four shovelcrs when dirt is
being filled in. All dirt filled in after
the pipe is placed should be tamped as
compactly as possible and built up
high enough In the center, with long
slopes back on to the roadway, to pre-
vent the accumulation of water in the
ruts near the culvcrt. Avoid all alb
rupt slopes. Covers on culverts should
be so placed that one could drive along
at good gait without knowing he WAS
going over culvert.
The filling in on top of the pipe of
ridge Of dirt that is an obstruction in
the road should never be permitted. as
it Is menace to the life of the cul-
vert. These abrupt slopes do not drain
the water off or away from the culvert,
but permit it to accumulate in the ruts
and soften up the roadway. The ma
jority Of culvert pipe broken In road
ways is not from the weight of the We
hiclcs on the pipe, but from side blow
in a deep rut, where the momentum,
added to the load by the team, frac-
lures the pipe on the side as with
blow from hammer. Long, sloping
covers should be placed on all pipe cul-
verts, thoroughly draining the storm
water away from the pipe, except
where macadam covers are resorted to.
The method OF protecting pipe cul-
yerts in roadways with macadam COW
ers where it Is not possible to obtain
dirt covers of sufficient depth is as fol-
lows: Proceed with the eXcavating and
back filling as already described, lamp
ing the dirt in thoroughly two or three
inches over the pipe, shaping 1t like
roof, to an apex. After this alternate
LAYERS Of macadam or broken stone and
clay that will lamp we'll should be
placed over the pipe and thoroughly
tamped, bringing the macadam up to
and slightly above grade, so when set
tied it will not be below the surface of
the grade.
In making the excavation for the
macadam cover the sides of the eXca-
walton should be more sloping than
when making excavations for dirt COW
ers. approximately on the following
slope: If the excavation is two feet
deep, the opening at the top of the
grade should be five or six feet across,
leaving long, sloplng bank on either
side. Care should be taken not to dis
turb the dirt under and around the
pipe, but the bottom of the excavation
should be carefully shaped to the CON
tour of the pipe with a round pointed
shovel.
The rOadmaker will frequently find
It impossible to place a large size cul
vert pipe in position and obtain proper
cover. BY referring to the capacity
table of pipe on different falls he can
readily find the number Of smaller pipe,
two or more. that will equal the capac-
itv of the larger pipe and obtain a
proper cover at the same expense. If
he were attempting to put In "a inch
pipe. and found that he would only
have six inches of cover, he could sub
stitute two IS inch pipes and obtain
the same capacity with IL inches of
,ovnr xCithnut incrpa sing the height of