The Pennsylvania DOT project provided for the emergency repair/replacement of a 31’-9” x 10’-2” long span, steel structural plate, low profile arch that was quickly washed out in an extremely severe storm event that brought 5 to 6 inches of rain in less than one-half hour at a location in Sullivan County, PA where S.R. 4016 crosses Lick Creek.
The replacement structure was virtually identical to the original structure with the exception of modifications made to the end treatments on each side. Essentially, square ends were designed to replace the skewed ends of the original culvert, with a new length of 68 feet established by the extremities of the short side skew on each end of the original culvert. The resultant decrease in length necessitated full height headwalls on each end, as opposed to the half-height original headwalls, and longer wingwalls.
A primary feature of the repair/replacement was the utilization of existing footings, which facilitated far less construction time, effort and cost. Another feature of the project involved the design partnership between the plate manufacturer and PennDOT that quickly led to a bid package inside 60 days. The partnership also included on-site structure assembly and shape monitoring by the plate manufacturer to help ensure proper assembly, placement, backfilling, and reduced construction times.