1. Oregon Dept. of Transportation Culvert Condition Assessment & Inventory
Presented By:
Paul R. Wirfs, P.E.
Deputy Manger of Geo-Env Section
Developed By:
Robert E. Trevis, P.E.
Culvert Engineering Program Lead

2. Outline Program Overview Challenges Culvert Handbook Data Collection
Inventory Fields
Condition Assessments
Culvert Data – Making Sense of the data
Drainage Facility Management System

3. Program Overview
Oregon DOT’s Culvert Inventory and Condition Assessment:
Culverts spans between 12 inches up to 20 feet on State Highways.
40 % of the State’s highway system completed.
Equates to over 15,000 culverts
Over 25% of these are in Poor or Critical condition.
Benefits of completing a culvert inventory and condition assessment include:
Reduced risk of sudden failure.
Improved project prioritization of culvert projects.
Reduced culvert infrastructure repair cost ( vs. emergency response)
Anticipate about 35K to 40K total
Unit been working on inventory/assessment for about 10 yrs
Agency has recognized as official program in 2013

4. 2016 Culvert Update
Completed Inventory Routes on State highways only, including all priority routes as define by ODOT HMT

5. Challenges Safety High traffic volumes Accessibility High water levels
Terrain
Vegetation
Clockwise:
Photo 1: Scour at outlet. 25ft drop at outlet
Photo 2: Inspector hiking back up 300 ft. plus embankment on Oregon Coast
Photo3: Brusher making a tunnel into 15 ft. of blackberries.

6. Culvert Inspection & Inventory Handbook
Developed to:
Provide a quick reference guide for qualified employees who have successfully completed the core training requirements.
Ensure repeatable results
Provide program wide uniformity and consistency.
Support a statewide program for inventory and determining the condition of culverts.
Field handbook for our culvert inspectors
Appropriate training is needed to utilize the field handbook
Not meant as a training guide just a reference
1 week of in class training
1 week of field traning

7. Inventory Fields
Inventory fields are only collected once on the initial site visit.
Location
Collected Inventory Information:
Drainage Facility ID
Bridge ID Number
Stream Name
Orientation
Skew
Inlet Side
Facility Usage
Height of Cover
End Treatment
Embankment Protection Material
Span
Rise
Length
Shape
Material
Facility Width
Comment Field
Screenshot of field application (ArchPad). Looking into better software and hardware.
Currently using Trimble GeoXT
Disadvantage is screen size & cost.

8. DFMS Condition Assessment

9. Condition Module * Condition Ratings
Ratings are based on a scale from 1 to 4.
Only use ‘0’ when unable to rate a particular condition rating.
The ODOT “Culvert Inspection & Inventory Handbook ” lists the rating criteria text and photographs of each condition assessment field.

10. Condition Assessment Roadway: Hydraulics: Structure:
Roadway Sag/ Guardrail Dip Embankment Popouts / Voids Pavement Cracks / Patches
Hydraulics:
Channel Alignment Embankment Protection Inlet
Scour Inlet Embankment Protection Outlet
Scour Outlet
3 groups of condition ratings
Structure:
General Barrel Condition Piping Damage Drift
Invert Condition Settlement Vegetation Obstruction
Out of Round Open Joints End Treatment Condition
Cracking Strc Blockage

11. Roadway Assessment Embankment Pop Outs / Voids:
Rate the roadway embankment slope for signs of failure and infiltration of fill into the culvert.
Observations to Rate:
Soil cracks along the contour of the slope
Depressions and slumps
Voids along the shoulder or embankment
Example of rating field for the group: Roadway Assessment

12. Hydraulic Assessment Embankment Protection:
Rate the condition of the embankment protection placed on the slope at the culvert inlet and outlet.
Observations to Rate:
Erosion around the culvert inlet and outlet of the roadway embankment
Stability of embankment protection
Loss of embankment protection
Scour or undermining of embankment protection
Example of rating field for the group: Hydraulic Assessment

13. Structure Assessment Cracking - Concrete:
Rate circular concrete culverts and reinforced concrete boxes for any cracking.
Observations to Rate:
Cracking of concrete
Spalling of concrete
Exposed rebar.
Also have separate Cracking rating pages for Metal and Plastic

14. Structure Assessment Cracking - Metal:
Rate multi-plate culverts for cracking around the bolt holes and plate seams.
Observations to Rate:
Cracking at bolt holes
Cracking along the plate seams
Deterioration of the metal around the bolts or plate seams

15. Structure Assessment General Barrel Condition - Metal:
Rate the general overall condition of the culvert.
Observations to Rate:
Corrosion of metal
Cracking along bolt holes or plate seams
Distortion or ‘Out of Round’
Holes or section loss of material
Buckling of culvert material
Infiltration of material
Open or separated seams
Also have separate General Barrel Condition rating pages for Metal and Plastic
Important Note:
General Barrel Condition rating must be equal to or lower than the lowest rating in the Structure section. ‘Drift’ ‘Vegetation’ and ‘End Treatment’ are not used in this determination.

16. Structure Assessment Invert Condition:
Rate the condition of culvert invert and sides.
Observations to Rate:
Metal
Severity of corrosion
Holes in the invert or sides
Section loss of material
Concrete
Spalls
Abrasion
Exposed Rebar
Plastic
Note the superscript for concrete. As this page is for both metal and concrete.

17. Structure Assessment Open Joints:
Rate the separation of the connection between pipe sections and seams.
Observations to Rate:
Any separation between pipe sections
Any separation of the seams between plates
Voids in fill material visible through pipe separation
Infiltration of backfill material

18. Structure Assessment Out of Round - Concrete:
Rate the geometry of the cross sectional area of the culvert.
Observations to Rate:
Distortion of the culvert
Flattening of the invert
Flattening of the crown
Also have separate Out of Round rating pages for Metal and Plastic

19. Making Sense of the Data

20. Making Sense of the Data
Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) - Rational Decision Making Process
Define hierarchy of criteria
Calculate weighs for all criteria based on pairwise comparisons
Evaluate results based on a performance score
Culvert Score
Roadway
Embank Void/Popout
Crack/Patch
Roadway Sag
Hydraulic
End Treatment
Embank Protect Outlet
Embank Protect Inlet
Scour Inlet
Scour Outlet
Structure (metal)
Invert
Cracking
Out of Round
Blockage
Open Joints
General Barrel
Slide show the structure outline.
Not all rating fields are used in the rating determinations.
Other fields are used as Maintenance indicators.

21. Making Sense of the Data
Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) - Rational Decision Making Process
Pairwise comparison of ratings
Slide shows the set up for the pair-wise comparisons of metal pipes.
Column A: General Barrel Condition is being compared to other ratings fields in column B
Column B: the rating fields being compared to General Barrel Condition
Column A or B: Show which column has more importance
Column (1-9): Scale of relative importance – General Barrel Condition has moderate importance over Invert
1 = Equal Importance.
9 = Extreme Importance.

22. Making Sense of the Data
Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) - Rational Decision Making Process
Calculate weights for criteria based on pairwise comparisons
Normalized percentage for the weights based off previous slide.

23. Making Sense of the Data
Calculate weights based on pairwise comparisons
Weights
Culvert Score
Roadway 20%
Embank Void/Popout %
Crack/Patch %
Roadway Sag %
Hydraulic
12%
End Treatment %
Embank Protect Outlet %
Embank Protect Inlet %
Scour Inlet %
Scour Outlet %
Structure
(metal)68%
Invert %
Cracking %
Out of Round %
Blockage %
Open Joints %
General Barrel %
Final weights for subgroups, groups and overall culvert score.

24. Making Sense of the Data
Pair-Wise Analysis - 3 different material categories
Ratings and weights for the structure class will change based on one of the three material types.
Concrete Metal Plastic
Ratings and weights for the Hydraulic and Geotechnical classes always stay the same.

25. Making Sense of the Data
Evaluate results based on a performance score
Culvert Performance Score
Culvert performance score is used to develop short and long term planning.
Based on the score the culvert is zoned into four different categories.
Good, Fair, Poor, and Critical.
Uses the same scoring range for all three material categories.
Integrated into Drainage Facility Management System
Calibrated rating weights & performance score using about 400 to 500 inspection photographs
Checked & refined calibration in field
Performance Score
Condition
Meaning
3.61 – 4.00
Green
Good
3.21 – 3.60
Yellow
Fair
2.80 – 3.20
Orange
Poor
0.00 – 2.79
Red
Critical

26. Making Sense of the Data
Example: DFMS Advanced Culvert Score
Rating Groups
Rating Fields
Rating
Weight
Sub Score
Group Score
Structure % x 2.26 =
1.54
General Barrel Condition 2
.430
0.86
Invert Damage
.240
0.48
Open Joints 3
.060
0.18
Out of Round 4
0.24
Blockage
.170
0.34
Cracking
.040
0.16
Rating Sub Score
2.26
Hydraulic % x 2.58 =
0.31
Embankment Protection Inlet
0.68
Embankment Protection Outlet
Scour Inlet
.120
Scour Outlet
.540
1.08
2.58
Roadway % x 3.46 =
0.69
Embankment Popouts / Voids
1.74
Pavement Cracks / Patches
.285
Sag Roadway / Guardrail
3.46
Final Culvert Score
2.54
Metal Culverts:
Example of culvert rating.
Structure:
Walk through the ratings multiplied by the weights to get sub score
Sub score is multiplied by the Group weight to get group score of 1.54
Add up all three group score to get 2.54
From previous slide on performance score this culvert condition is critical.

27. Looking at DFMS Overall Rating screen of a culvert.
Drainage Facility Management System:
Web based database application develop by Oregon DOT
Data stored in corporate Oracle tables
Available to staff on ODOT’s intranet
Track Information on culverts along the transportation system
Stores inspections and photos to history section
Enables ODOT to look at previous inspections and photographs

28. DFMS Condition Assessment
Inspection Return Interval:
Based on condition of the culvert using the performance scores.
Good years
Fair 10 years
Poor 2 years
Critical 1 year

29. Culvert Assessment Information
Oregon DOT
Improved project prioritization and selection of culvert projects.
Desk and project scoping for culvert repairs and replacement.
Maintenance of culverts:
Plugged with sediment
Drift,
Vegetation
Scour

30. Culvert Inspector sense of humor
Culvert Inspector sense of humor. Could not located outlet of culvert, but noticed seepage in the vicinity of the outlet.