Failures
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Something Fishy With Failures? Public Works Article Resource #03-249 High-density polyethylene pipe and reinforced concrete pipe are not interchangeable. The April 2009 collapse of the plastic drainage system at a stat-of-the-art fish hatchery in Jasper, TX, should send shudders throughout the civil engineering community. Not only was the failure entirely avoidable, virtually everything that could go wrong, did go wrong: |
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Heavy Rains Lead to Catastrophic Failure of CMP Culvert Near Buffalo, TX Resource #e-012 It is incumbent upon the product manufacturer, specifier, or project engineer to verify and assure that the pipe specified for an intended application, when installed according to procedures outlined in this practice, will provide a long term, satisfactory performance according to criteria established for that application. |
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State DOT Sued Over I-88 Metal Culvert Failure Resource # e-002 At approximately 6:20 a.m. on June 28, it was discovered, and reported to police that a 30-foot diameter metal culvert on Carrs Creek had failed, causing a 150 foot length of I-88 to be washed out. The collapsed highway claimed the lives of two truck drivers, one east bound and one west bound, when their trucks plunged into the 50 foot deep hole that had been created across all four lanes of I-88. |
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“World’s Largest Corrugated Steel Arch Collapses on Alaska Highway” (YSK Bulletin #122) August, 2002 “Largest structure of its kind in the world.” “The mother of all potholes.” How about “largest collapse”? Luckily this failure occurred during daylight hours or the results could have been tragic. The cause of the failure is still being investigated but we know that a tender for a new concrete bridge to replaced the failed structure was accepted at $1.88 million. Read about the effects that a catastrophic failure can have on the community, residents and traveling public. |
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“CMP Failure Closes Canada’s Busiest Highway; Confirms Need for Life Cycle Analysis” (YSK Bulletin #118) June, 2001 One of North America’s busiest roads was closed on August 9, 2000 when a corrugated steel pipe failed Highway 401 just outside of Toronto, Ontario. The funderailure resulted in a sinkhole that cause major delays for motorists traveling to Toronto. Similar CSP failures abound throughout North America. This bulletin highlights some of most significant occurrences and discusses service life of CSP versus reinforced concrete pipe, as well as the need to conduct Life Cycle Analysis based on the project design life. |