Hydrologic risk assessment of forest road-crossings and culverts

Culverts are part of the transportation infrastructure, but many are vulnerable to floods. 

Photo Credit

Karl Buchholz, USDA Forest Service

Hydrologically unstable culvert installation in Saluda County, South Carolina. 

A new study uses long-term, high-resolution streamflow data from 1387 watersheds on the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire and five experimental forests to evaluate how culvert design, size, and surrounding topography affect their vulnerability to flooding. 

This study is part of a larger body of work that includes extreme precipitation analyses for experimental forests and assessments of culverts in Francis Marion National Forest, South Carolina. 

This research received funding support from the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a tool that will help engineers and forest managers make decisions about how to address at-risk culverts. 

Because this work has potential for wider applications, a second phase of Department of Transportation funding will address culvert vulnerability to debris flow after wildfires or floods, specifically on western federal lands.