Culvert Cleaning

With the awareness of environmental hazards detailed by federal and local regulations, it is important that drainage structures are properly maintained. In the past, these structures have not been given the attention they deserve. Many culverts in the U.S. have never been cleaned, which has resulted in damages to the structures themselves, roads, ditches, personal property, and even people.

One of the main reasons organizations have not maintained their structures is the lack of efficient and effective culvert cleaning methods. Open-cutting a road, jetter trucks, backhoes, and cables are all methods that have been used to clean culverts in the past. Each of these methods has its shortcomings.

Benefits

HURK’s process has overcome these failures of other methods and has introduced an efficient and effective way to clean clogged culverts. The following are the benefits of this method:

Efficiency — A head-to-head study was performed with HURK’s process and a jetter truck. The study was performed on a culvert consisting of 2 identical pipes with the same amount of silt inside each pipe. The first pipe was cleaned with a jet truck and was completed in 6.5 hours and used 1200 gallons of water. The second pipe was cleaned using HURK’s process, which was done in 40 minutes and used 110 gallons of water.
Reduced Water Usage — When using a jetter truck, potentially thousands of gallons of water can be used to effectively clean a culvert. HURK’s method will use a fraction of that. For example, a 60′ culvert with a diameter of 24″ that is 100% full can be cleaned using between 100-250 gallons of water. Using HURK’s method, the water usage and pressure are controlled by the drill operator. The water is pumped through the drill stem to the culvert cleaning attachments.
Versatile — Using a directional drill allows culverts of any size, shape, and material to be cleaned effectively.
Containment of Debris — Using a directional drill gives the operator complete control of the debris within a culvert. With controlled pullback and thrust speeds, the operator can remove as little or as much material as they want at a controlled speed. This will allow for the material to be shoveled, excavated, or vacuumed as it is being removed from the culvert. Using a pull bucket or push bucket, the material can be removed from either end of a culvert.
Structurally Safe — The culvert cleaning tools are built out of mild steel that will not damage the interior of the culvert. Using a directional drill allows the operator to control the rotation of the tools. This is very important, especially when a failure or void is encountered. With total control, the operator will be able to back out the tool to determine where the failure is.

Wick Boring

HURK Underground utilized patented technology and methodology for the new installation of subsurface drainage. The method does not need the railroad track, road surface, or compaction to be cut and removed. The Wick facilitates the removal of sub-water under railroads, highways, and other surfaces to prevent track failure, road separation, and other damage and allows sub-surface water to be wicked out toward existing ditch drainages.

The Wick drainage pipe is placed using a Horizontal Directional Drill (HDD) method using only water since bentonite would seal the wick. The wick is placed into an HDPE casing and attached to the back reamer of the HDD. The casing and wick are pulled under the surface using the HDD method. Once the casing emerges from underground, the wick is tied securely opposite the HDD by the Nylon rope that is woven into the wick. The casing is then removed by HDD, leaving the wick drain under the surface. The casing joints are removed as they become visible. All joints are removed, leaving the wick underground. Extensions of ADS pipe are added if necessary to flow to existing drainage structures.

Several wick drains have been installed to alleviate “mud pots” on railroad tracks. The wick drains were installed for BNSF in Kansas City, MO, at the Sugar Creek Depot and Emporia, KS.

Culvert Lining

With the use of a directional drill’s thrust, pullback, rotation, and fluid, HURK Underground Technologies can successfully pull in a culvert liner to repair damaged areas due to separation or void in current culvert structures. After the installation of a culvert liner, grout is applied to the ends of the liner to prevent infiltration of road base, ballast, water, or waste.

Culvert Banding

Banding is a method of taking a preloaded piece of steel and, with the use of a directional drill, inserting the band into a section of the culvert that has separated. Once the band is in place, the tension will be released, and the band will take the shape of the culvert pipe. Once the band is set, grout and sealant will be applied.

Pipe Swallowing

Culvert swallowing is a great alternative to open-cutting a culvert. Once a culvert has failed, it needs to be replaced. Currently, this involves cutting open the road or railway that runs over the failed culvert structure. This method is very costly and very inefficient. Culvert Swallowing provides an alternative method to avoid these inefficiencies and costs. Culvert swallowing is achieved by placing a casing around the failed culvert. The placement is achieved by patented pneumatic hammers, which hammer the steel casing around the existing failed culvert. Once the casing has completely swallowed the existing pipe, the failed culvert can be removed using directional drilling technology.

Pipe Ramming

Culvert ramming is a great alternative to open-cutting a culvert. Once a culvert has failed, it needs to be replaced. Currently, this involves cutting open the road or railway that runs over the failed culvert structure. This method is very costly and very inefficient. Culvert ramming provides an alternative method to avoid these inefficiencies and costs.

Culvert ramming is achieved by placing a casing around a failed culvert. The placement is achieved by patented pneumatic hammers, which hammer the steel casing around the existing failed culvert. Once the casing has completely swallowed the existing pipe, the failed culvert can be removed using directional technology.