Carlsbad, NM — DOT Saves Money and TIme on Relining
New Mexico DOT Saves Money and Time Relining Multiple Culverts with Snap-Tite HDPE Pipe
The Problem
The U.S. road infrastructure is in a bad state. One of the major causes of concern is culvert failure. Culverts that were installed 40 to 50 years ago are now past their design life and failing, or have failed, causing road collapses, traffic delays and safety hazards.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) District Two was faced with multiple corrugated metal pipe (CMP) culverts along highway SR 31 that were rusting from the top down due to salts on the highway. Typically, CMP culverts corrode and deteriorate on the bottom first, but these were falling apart at the top, which meant the road was in great danger of collapse. In total, the NMDOT District Two needed to rehabilitate 13 CMP culverts ranging in diameters from 24 inches to 42 inches.
The Solution
Trevor Cone, Snap-Tite representative, spoke with Richard Villescas, NMDOT area maintenance supervisor for District Two, about a no-dig solution to rehabilitate the damaged culverts – the Snap-Tite culvert lining system. Cone also worked with Troy Hensley from NMDOT and Hydro-Watt’s Mike Wedel, a Snap-Tite distributor, to determine the right Snap-Tite materials for this project.
The Snap-Tite culvert lining system is made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe. SnapTite’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 feet to 50 feet, and is available for culverts with diameters from eight inches to 84 inches.
The Snap-Tite pipe liners used on this project varied in diameter form 18 inches to 36 inches and came in lengths of 8 feet to 24 feet. The length of the sections chosen for each project often depends on the working area available for installation. The NMDOT District Two purchased the One of the deteriorated culverts underneath SR 31. This
one is severely rusted and erroded on top. A view of the culvert from the inside. Note the hole at the top where the culvert has completely deteriorated and caved in on intself. 1-800-CULVERT www.culvert-rehab.com pipe using the New Mexico State Price Agreement Number: 10-805-00-06590.