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10. MAINTENANCE

Cross drainage structures usually account for a high proportion of the total cost of a road. They are the
potential weak points in a road network due to the possible damaging effects of floods and high water
flows being concentrated at the points where the water crosses the road. The failure of these structures
would result in high replacement costs and long delays due to the closure of the road. It is particularly
important therefore, that sufficient attention is given to structures to ensure that they are maintained in
good condition.

A culvert, bridge or other structure is an integral Part of the road, and its condition will affect the level
of service that the road provides. A structure should be designed so that no major repair works should
be required during its ‘design life’ (eg replacement of abutments, piers or deck structural members).
Eventually major works may be required such as a complete new timber bridge deck or safety barrier
replacement. However, the structure should be designed to provide many years of service through its
design life with only minor maintenance.

Importantly, if the maintenance is not carried out, there can be serious consequences for road users. It
can result in increased safety hazards, reduced quality of service or even loss of the structure and severing
of the transport link.

It is usually not possible with the resources available in developing countries to devise a ‘maintenance-
free structure’ for a watercourse crossing. However, application of the design and construction guidelines
contained in this Manual should reduce maintenance requirements to an acceptable and manageable
level.

Conversely, poor design or construction will result in an abnormally high requirement for maintenance, or
even eventual loss of the structure.

There are a number of aspects which should be appreciated in devising appropriate management and
maintenance arrangements for structures. This applies to consideration of an individual structure, or a
large number constructed at various locations on a road network.

ƒ Structures will often need no maintenance for periods of many months or sometimes even years.
ƒ Deterioration or damage to a structure can progress slowly (eg corrosion, attack by insects), or
suddenly (eg in a flood or vehicle accident).
ƒ The need for repairs may not be obvious to road users or through casual observation from the
road. However, the deterioration can progress, if not checked, to result in the need for major works
at great cost and requiring substantial unplanned resource mobilisation.
ƒ The resources for maintenance and repair of a typical structure are required intermittently, not
continuously.
ƒ It is usually most efficient to provide maintenance resources only when the structure requires
maintenance or repair works.

It is important to ensure the maintenance of a structure so that it remains in its intended condition,
providing the service and benefits to road users and the community that it was designed for. It is an asset
that needs to be managed.

10.1 Managing the structure

The maintenance works required to be carried out on a structure will range from basic seasonal clearing
of silt and debris to ensure it continues to function properly, through to replacement of components of
the structure when they are worn out or damaged. It can be expected that ALL structures will normally
require at least some basic maintenance each year.

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It is necessary to set up a management system to ensure that the structure stays in a condition that
it is able to carry out its function in a safe manner. In essence this ‘system’ should identify when work
needs to be carried out. From this assessment the maintenance funding and works can be arranged and
supervised to ensure that the maintenance is completed satisfactorily.

A system of inspections is required to identify any damage or deterioration of the structure, or problems
adjacent to the structure which may threaten its stability.

The key components of a structures management system are:

ƒ An inventory of all structures (ie What is the asset? What are its key features? These are management
records which generally do not change with time, except for new structures or after major structural
changes to an existing one);
ƒ An inspection system (to determine the condition and repair needs);
ƒ Arrangements for specifying, arranging, supervising, recording/reporting and paying for the
works. Arrangements should also be in place for checking the ‘value for money’ of maintenance
operations and expenditures.

TRL Overseas Road Note 7 provides comprehensive guidelines on the inspection and documentation of
inventory and condition information on structures. A paper based system is quite adequate. Computer
systems can help if the number of structures being managed is substantial and the operating environment
can support the maintenance of the computer system itself, including arrangements for the ongoing costs
and skilled resources required. In a limited resource environment it can be difficult to justify and secure
the recurring costs of administration, computer support personnel and inevitable software and hardware
upgrades required for a computer system. Ie there can be an undue and unnecessary dependence on
external resources.

Certain maintenance activities such as de-silting and removal of debris should be carried out under
a routine programme of works. For example, before the rainy season all silt should be removed from
culverts, their inlets and outlet channels. After the rains, and particularly after individual floods, silt
and debris should be cleared from structures to avoid later damage due to blockages or diversion/
concentration of water.

These routine clearing operations are an ideal opportunity to carry out an inspection of a structure. With
the scarcity and expense of engineering personnel, it is possible to train persons with limited education
(eg the gang leader) to carry out inspections and to alert engineering staff to situations that require their
action.

Inspections of ALL structures should be carried out after a flood situation as this is the most likely time for
damage to have occurred. Particular attention should be paid to identifying any movement, especially
at joints, cracking/spalling and assessing whether erosion has occurred around abutments and piers, or
at the ends of aprons. Where water is permanently standing against the structure, probing with ranging
rods, poles or plumb lines should be carried out to identify unseen scouring. A boat or raft may be
required for this inspection.

All structures, from culverts to bridges, should receive a documented routine inspection at least once
each year. As indicated above these can be carried out by relatively unskilled personnel if the appropriate
training is provided. Inspection records should be carefully filed for future reference. Even a report of ‘no
defects’ is important management information.

The management of a structure costs money and, even before a structure is built, the ongoing provision
of the funds and resources for the management (including inspections) as well as the maintenance of the
structure should be assured.

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10.2 Maintaining the structure

Structure maintenance activities can be grouped into regular routine maintenance (Table E.10.1) and
periodic major operations.

Table E.10.1: Structure - Routine

ƒ 1.Cleaning/clearing
‚ sweeping
‚ de-silting
‚ unblocking
‚ removal of vegetation and flood/wind borne debris).
‚ (This includes inlets and outlet channels as well as culvert openings themselves)
ƒ Repair of loose/missing connectors and fixings
ƒ Replacement of damaged/missing planks or kerbs
ƒ Painting
ƒ Wood preservation
ƒ Pointing/repair of masonry
ƒ Repair of parapets, marker posts, safety barriers and features/signs

Table E.10.2: Structure - Periodic

ƒ Random stone filling

ƒ Retaining wall repairs
ƒ Riverbed scour repairs
ƒ Gabion repairs
ƒ Structural repairs to the following defects:-
‚ structural timber decay, splitting or insect attack
‚ bulging masonry
‚ cracked concrete or masonry
‚ honeycombed concrete
‚ spalling concrete
‚ serious rust or chemical stains
‚ exposed or corroding reinforcement or pre-stressing steel
‚ damp patches on the concrete
‚ seriously corroded structural steelwork
‚ damaged/distorted structural steelwork
‚ loose structural rivets, bolts or other fixings
‚ cracks in structural steelwork
‚ settlement of deck, piers, abutments or wingwalls
‚ expansion joint or bearing defects
‚ erosion requiring piling works

Major repairs will generally require technical expertise for the design and supervision of remedial work.

Maintenance works should be planned, organised and supervised using the guidelines set out in the
previous construction chapter. Maintenance records should be kept for each structure, which include:
ƒ Estimates of work proposed;
ƒ Details of work carried out;
ƒ Date of completion of the repair;
ƒ Supervisor’s quality control reports;
ƒ Actual costs of repair.

Storage of information should be on a structure by structure basis so that the complete history can be
easily viewed.

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Further guidance on maintaining structures is provided in the PIARC International Road Maintenance
Handbook, Volume 4. The handbook includes advice on the defects, resources and maintenance methods
involved.

10.3 Common maintenance requirements

Damage due to scour and erosion is the most likely cause of major or unrepairable damage to a structure.
Once scour or erosion around a structure starts the damage can increase very rapidly. It is therefore
essential that maintenance is carried out quickly to prevent further structural damage.

10.3.1 Drifts

The drift must maintain a firm roadway across the width of the river which is not covered by debris or
eroded by the flood water. The face of the river embankments should also be protected against scour and
erosion. It may be possible to encourage the growth of vegetation along the banks to improve the bank
stability and prevent erosion. The common maintenance issues to address are:
ƒ Cracking of the slab;
ƒ Undercutting on the downstream side;
ƒ Erosion at ends of slab where it is not extended above high flood levels;
ƒ Lack of downstream protection;
ƒ Guidestones knocked off.

10.3.2 Culverts

The most common maintenance problem associated with culverts is blockage due to silt and other debris.
Hence regular cleaning of the culverts is essential as illustrated in Plates E.10.1 and E.10.2. A blocked
culvert can result in damage to the road in 3 ways:
1. Water can seep into the subgrade of the road and reduce its strength. The road will tend to subside
and the road surface will break up.
2. The water can undermine the head and wingwall of the culvert causing it to collapse. The road
embankment will then be unsupported and rapidly subside.
3. In an extreme case the water level may continue to increase until the water floods over the road.
The road may then become impassable and major damage occur as the water erodes the road and
culvert. Ultimately the road will be washed away and a large gully will be scoured across the road.

Water discharging from culverts with excessive velocity will erode the stream bed and possibly undermine
the whole structure. It is therefore essential to provide some form of protection to the beds below the
outlet of a culvert. The protection is usually in the form of a masonry apron. It may also be necessary to
prevent erosion of the watercourse itself further downstream of the culvert. Bio-engineering planting may
be an appropriate and low-cost solution.

Plate E.10.1 and Plate E.10.2: Culvert cleaning tool

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The main cause of blockage of culverts is by water carried debris and vegetation (Plate E.10.3). Larger
debris tends to collect at the entrance to the culvert causing blockage at the headwall, while silt is
deposited in the culvert barrel. If unchecked this silt can build up until it fills the culvert barrel. Long grass
at the outlet of a culvert can cause silting at the outlet and eventual blockage of the culvert. It is therefore
necessary, particularly before the rainy season, to clean culvert barrels, inlets and outlets to allow water
to flow freely through the culvert.

Plate E.10.3: Box culvert partially blocked by vegetation

Any material removed from a culvert should be disposed of downstream of the culvert to prevent it
washing back into the structure. Other common defects that require maintenance to be carried out on
culverts include:
ƒ Downstream erosion;
ƒ Headwall knocked down or damaged;
ƒ Outfall channel eroded or silted;
ƒ Undercutting of the culvert outfall apron;
ƒ Ponding of water at the inlet and/or outlet causing subsidence of the road embankment.

10.3.3 Vented drifts and large bore culverts

The common maintenance requirements with vented fords and large bore culverts are similar to culverts
and drifts (Plate E.10.4). In addition to the issues discussed above the following defects may need to be
corrected during maintenance:
ƒ floating debris, such as tree branches, can block the culvert barrels;
ƒ cracking and breaking of roadway slab;
ƒ cracking and breaking of structure faces.

Plate E.10.4: Cleaning the drop inlet and barrel of a large bore culvert

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10.3.4 Bridge Maintenance

The substantially larger investment in bridges, compared to smaller structures, justifies greater attention
to inspection and maintenance of these vital road components. The consequences of failure due to lack
of maintenance can be routes being severed for considerable period with serious adverse social and
economic outcomes. It is therefore important to establish a regime of regular bridge inspections and
active maintenance response works.

Inspections should be formulated on a regular basis to identify and initiate maintenance repairs for the
following possible defects:
ƒ Minor Defects (non-structural)
• Accumulation of dirt or soil on bridge deck;
• Blocked scuppers;
• Stones, soil or dirt in joints or around bearings;
• Vegetation or soil in weep holes or in backfill drainage outlets;
• Flood debris at or under bridge;
• Wind-blown debris on or under bridge.
ƒ Minor Defects (structural)
• Loose or missing nailed/bolted connectors or fixings;
• Damaged running boards or deck planks;
• Rusty steel, faded paint;
• Untreated wood;
• Defective masonry joints.
ƒ Minor Defects (Safety)
• Damaged safety barrier or parapet;
• Damaged warning signs.

The following defects may require major repair works and specialist expertise to ensure appropriate
remedial works. The inspection system should initiate mobilisation of the necessary expertise when these
defects are identified:
ƒ Major Defects
• Scour adjacent to structure;
• Structural timber decay, splitting or insect attack;
• Bulging masonry;
• Cracked concrete or masonry;
• Honeycombed concrete;
• Spalling concrete;
• Serious rust or chemical stains;
• Exposed or corroding reinforcement;
• Damp patches on the concrete;
• Seriously corroded structural steelwork;
• Damage/distorted structural steelwork;
• Loose structural rivets, bolts or other fixings;
• Cracks in structural steelwork;
• Settlement of deck, piers or abutments;
• Erosion requiring piling works;
• Vehicle Impact damage (especially to steel panel bridges).

Further guidance on bridge and structures maintenance is available from the PIARC International Road
Maintenance Handbook Volume IV.

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Plate E.10.5: Serious vehicle impact damage to steel panel bridge

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