Ogden Daily Standard | 1916-10-24 | Page 10 | Why Many Culverts Are Dangerous

WHY MANY CULVERTS ARE DANGEROUS A good Illustration of the reason that many culverts with open joints are dangerous to the porsons using the roads they cross has been given by the Minnesota highway commission. commis-sion. Some years ago a large culvert cul-vert was lengthened when the road it crossed was widened. Recently it was decided to replace the culvert j with a more substantial structure. When the roadway was excavated to ' remove the old culvert, it was found that the joint between the original work and the extension was ont tight. The earth above the joint had gradually grad-ually sifted through the opening, a cavity over it about five feet wide and three feet high, with only an arch of hard dirt, about a foot thigck in one place, to support the loads passing pas-sing along the road. Only good luck prevented this arch giving way under a passing vehicle and causing a serious ser-ious injury. This danger is a real one where poor work is done in building culverts, although, fortunately, tho merely a dep hole in the road which usual result of such construction is the driver can see and avoid. net