TABLE OF CONTENTS – LARGE CULVERTS AND OPEN BOTTOM
STRUCTURES
CHAPTER 20
FILE NO. TITLE DATE
TABLE OF CONTENTS AND INTRODUCTION
[Link]-1 Table of Contents – Chapter 20 .......................................................... 31Oct2022
20.00-1 Introduction – Chapter 20.................................................................... 29Apr2022
GENERAL INFORMATION
20.01-1 Requirements ...................................................................................... 29Apr2022
20.01-2 Requirements ...................................................................................... 31Oct2022
20.01-3 Requirements ...................................................................................... 29Apr2022
20.01-4 Supplemental Information ................................................................... 29Apr2022
PART 2
LARGE CULVERTS AND OPEN BOTTOM STRUCTURES DATE: 31Oct2022
TABLE OF CONTENTS – CHAPTER 20 SHEET 1 of 1
FILE NO. [Link]-1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter establishes guidelines and procedures for the structural design of large culverts and
open bottom structures. See IIM-S&B-101, which defines large culverts and open bottom
structures, and identifies the responsibility for their design and management.
Guidance for the rehabilitation of large culverts and open bottom structures is provided in Part 2,
Chapter 32 of VDOT’s Manual of the Structure and Bridge Division.
Non-structural design guidance for large culverts and open bottom structures is provided in the
VDOT Road Design Manual and the Drainage Manual.
Durability and strength are more critical for large culverts than for smaller pipes because the
consequences of poor performance, in terms of both cost and safety, are more significant. In
recognition of the need for better performance, VDOT has established separate requirements for
large culverts. The greater significance of large culverts has also been acknowledged at the
national level through FHWA’s definition of certain larger culverts as “bridges” for the purposes of
the National Bridge Inventory. This definition necessitates greater performance and reliability with
commensurably higher standards for inspection and design. Furthermore, the performance
measures VDOT uses for bridges are also used to track the performance of large culverts.
PART 2
LARGE CULVERTS AND OPEN BOTTOM STRUCTURES DATE: 29Apr2022
INTRODUCTION SHEET 1 of 1
FILE NO. 20.00-1
REQUIREMENTS FOR LARGE CULVERTS AND OPEN BOTTOM
STRUCTURES:
All large culverts and open bottom structures must meet the requirements in other parts of this
Manual and the additional requirements provided herein.
• As soon as a large culvert or open bottom structure is identified as being part of a project, a
Federal Structure Number must be obtained from the District Structure and Bridge office in
accordance with IIM-S&B-77.
• Plans for open bottom structures must be developed similar to bridge plans, and filed in the
Plan File Room in ProjectWise.
• Plans for large culverts must be filed in the Plan File Room in ProjectWise under the Federal
Structure Number. Given that large culverts do not have a stand-alone set of plans for
advertisement like bridges (they are generally included in road plans), the guidance on what
exactly to file recognizes that reality, while striving to achieve the goal of having a record plan
set available for future inventory management needs. The following shall be filed, subject to
modifications approved by the District Structure and Bridge Engineer (DBE) based on the
needs associated with various methods of large culvert project delivery:
a. Pertinent road plan sheets related to the culvert (title sheet, plan sheet with
culvert location, drainage description sheet) (as-built versions if applicable)
b. Non-standard culvert design sheets
c. Final shop drawings
Note that for some methods of project delivery, there may not be a set of road plans. In
these cases, equivalent sheets from a no-plan assembly or state force plan documents
may be substituted. For design-build projects, items a, b and c must be provided.
• For design-build projects, the selection of materials is subject to the approval of the DBE.
• Large culvert openings or open bottom structures are sized to meet the requirements of the
Drainage Manual. However, large culverts or open bottom structures must provide at least 48
inches of vertical clearance to allow for access for inspection and maintenance. Vertical
clearances less than 48 inches may not be used unless approval is obtained from the DBE.
• Large culverts and open bottom structures shall be designed in accordance with the
documents listed below. This document shall govern over the documents listed below if the
documents do not agree.
• VDOT Manual of the Structure and Bridge Division
• AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications, with VDOT Modifications
• VDOT Road and Bridge Standards
• VDOT Road Design Manual
• VDOT Drainage Manual
• IIM-S&B-101
• IIM-LD-195
• An as-designed and as-built load rating must be provided in accordance with the
requirements of IIM-S&B-86.
LARGE CULVERTS AND OPEN BOTTOM STRUCTURES PART 2
DATE: 29Apr2022
GENERAL INFORMATION SHEET 1 of 4
REQUIREMENTS FILE NO. 20.01-1
A Scour Design Summary Form must be provided in accordance with the requirements of
IIM-S&B-27.
Subsurface information shall be investigated in accordance with Chapter III of the Materials
Division Manual of Instructions, and in consultation with District Materials or Structure and
Bridge.
The structural engineer must ensure the selected standard sections, including wingwalls,
work for the specific site. The wingwalls shall be self-supporting. Any connections between
the culvert and wingwalls shall not be considered as structural elements, though connections
may be used for construction purposes. Aprons, riprap or curtain walls may be used to
mitigate the erosion issues. Contact the S&B Engineering Services Program Area for more
information about apron and curtain walls. SBEngineeringservices@[Link].
Large culverts placed under Interstate highways shall be constructed of reinforced concrete.
Open bottom structures shall be constructed of reinforced concrete.
Reinforcing steel shall be corrosion resistant reinforcing (CRR) steel, Class I in the following
situations:
Culverts (not including wingwall steel, except in the following situation) and open
bottom structures with 0 to 2 foot top fills
Culverts (including wingwall steel) and open bottom structures in the area enclosed
by the red line (including on the red highlighted routes) in Figure 1 on File No. 12.08-
2
If CRR is required, the bridge team member for the project must notify the road/drainage
designer and ensure that:
a. the culvert description on the drainage description sheet in the road plans
indicates that CRR is being used
b. the drainage summary sheet in the road plans designates CRR steel, Class I
c. pay item code #00541 is used in the estimate
When reviewing the shop drawings, ensure pipe joints are specified and meet the
requirements of AASHTO PP-63. All joints shall be watertight unless buoyancy
considerations require alternate joint types.
Approval from the DBE is required for use of any type of polymer, Acrylonitrile Butadiene
Styrene (ABS) or plastic pipe culverts. These materials are susceptible to chemical
degradation when in contact with gasoline or diesel fuel, and to melting during a fire.
Structural design of large culverts may be based on the tables in the VDOT Road and Bridge
Standards. However, the selected structure shall provide 75-year service life in accordance
with the requirements stated below, and, where necessary, the design must be modified from
the standards to provide the required service life.
Any new structure added to the inventory of the Structure and Bridge Division shall be either a
bridge or a large culvert.
Hybrid structures that include a combination of both pipes/boxes and clear spans shall not be
permitted without a design waiver.
LARGE CULVERTS AND OPEN BOTTOM STRUCTURES PART 2
DATE: 31Oct2022
GENERAL INFORMATION SHEET 2 of 4
REQUIREMENTS FILE NO. 20.01-2
• Large culverts, including material and type, shall provide a minimum of 75 years of service
life, as defined herein. The designer may determine service life through one of two methods:
1. Use past performance of VDOT’s large culverts as an indication of future performance.
Past performance is summarized in the Historical Data Summary Chart provided in the
Supplemental Information section of this chapter.
2. Submit to the DBE for review and approval signed and sealed calculations of the
estimated service life using the “California Method” as described in NCHRP Synthesis
Report 474 and referenced in “California Test 643, Method for Estimating Service Life of
Culverts”, and Chapter 850 - Physical Standards of the California Highway Design
Manual. Calculations must address both abrasion and corrosion. Calculations shall be
supported by at least 10 years of in-service performance data of at least 50 large culverts
in a similar environment, establishing that 90% of the large culverts, including material
and type, will provide 75 years of service life with minimal repairs. A maintenance-free
service period, with respect to corrosion, abrasion and/or durability is defined as the
number of years from installation until the deterioration reaches the point of perforation at
any location on the culvert. In-service data must show that the proposed method and type
have performed under conditions and environments similar to those for the proposed
large culvert.
Email SBEngineeringservices@[Link] for assistance in obtaining the associated
references.
LARGE CULVERTS AND OPEN BOTTOM STRUCTURES PART 2
DATE: 29Apr2022
GENERAL INFORMATION SHEET 3 of 4
REQUIREMENTS FILE NO. 20.01-3
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:
Large culverts in Virginia do not necessarily deteriorate at the same rate as smaller culverts. In
order to better understand the average service life of various material types for large culverts, an
analysis of the in-service performance of large culverts in the inventory of the Structure and
Bridge Division was performed. The summary results of that analysis are provided in the table
below.
Historical Data Summary Chart - Performance of VDOT’s Large Culverts1
Average Age of Percentage
Material
Projected Service Life3 Large Culverts Structurally Deficient
Type2
in Inventory as of July 1, 2015
Concrete 75 38 0.3%
Steel 26 35 8.4%
Aluminum See note 4 30 4.3%
1A report summarizing the findings of the data analysis can be obtained by emailing
SBEngineeringservices@[Link].
2VDOT’s Structure and Bridge Division has extensive historical data on the condition of large culverts, but
inventory data do not identify certain details such as steel gauge or coating type of steel large culverts, or
whether a large culvert was cast-in-place or precast. Information provided is aggregated using available
data.
3Projected service life for the purposes of the study was calculated as the age at which the predicted 90th
percentile of large culverts is at an average condition state of 2.8 or less. The analysis showed that an
average condition state of 2.8 correlates to structurally deficient status (general condition rating of 4).
Projected service life for large culverts was developed by using average statewide deterioration data for
each type of large culvert.
4Insufficient data exists on aluminum large culverts to draw meaningful conclusions regarding projected
service life.
LARGE CULVERTS AND OPEN BOTTOM STRUCTURES PART 2
DATE: 29Apr2022
GENERAL INFORMATION SHEET 4 of 4
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FILE NO. 20.01-4