Mitigating Frost Heaves and Dips Near Centerline Culverts

Wednesday, February 3, 2016 - 20:30

Minnesota county engineers have sometimes observed heaves and dips near centerline culverts during cold winter months. In these instances, during the late winter and early spring, the area where a culvert has been replaced does not heave or heaves only slightly, while the roadway on either side of the replaced culvert heaves. The heave and dip disappear entirely, or nearly entirely, during the late spring and early summer when the road embankment thaws.

CTC & Associates conducted a literature search and surveyed representatives from transportation agencies in cold-climate states in the United States and provinces in Canada that may have experience with heaves and dips near centerline culverts during cold weather, and practices to mitigate them. Some publications use the term “differential frost heave”; for purposes of this report, this cold weather heave-and-dip phenomenon is referred to as a “frost dip.”

The full report is available online at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/research/TRS/2015/TRS1511.pdf

 


Thank you to our Premier Sponsors