Evaluation of New Technology in Culvert Cleaning

Caltrans is responsible for maintenance of California's state road network. The maintenance and repair of culverts is a critical aspect of road maintenance. Cleaning culverts is necessary to eliminate blockages that prevent inspections and thus can lead to failures either due to the blockage itself or a failure that was not identified and addressed due to the lack of inspections. The present options of clearing larger culverts are very costly and subject workers to work hazards that require confined spaces procedures. This document reports on the field evaluation of specialized remote control equipment, a tunnel mucker, used to clean box culverts measuring at least 4ft by 4ft or circular culverts measuring at least 5ft in diameter. It details the operations with Caltrans maintenance over 20 months and includes tests of antenna configurations and radio signal attenuation. The use of this machine was very effective and demonstrated a 79% reduction in costs when compared to the use of typical vacuum truck systems. The use of a remote control tunnel mucker has the potential to significantly improve safety and efficiency of many culvert cleaning operations.

• Record URL:
  https://merritt.cdlib.org/d/ark%3A%2F13030%2Fm51k3zf3/1/producer%2FCA12-1954.pdf
• 
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/951481587
• Corporate Authors:

  University of California, Davis

  Advanced Highway Maintenance and Construction Technology Research Center
  Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
  Davis, CA  United States  95616-5294

  California Department of Transportation

  Division of Research, Innovation and System Information
  1727 30th Street, MS 83
  Sacramento, CA  United States  95816
• Authors:
  • Clark, Allyson E
  • Creed, Ben C
  • White, Wilderich A
  • Velinsky, Steven A
• Publication Date: 2012-6-30

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 61p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Antennas; Box culverts; Highway maintenance; Mucking; Remote control
• Identifier Terms: California Department of Transportation
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01753994
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
• Report/Paper Numbers: CA12-1954, UCD-ARR-12-06-30-09
• Contract Numbers: 65A0275 Task 1954
• Files: CALTRANS, BTRIS, TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jun 9 2016 6:07PM