Recent Idaho 6 culvert replacement highlights collaboration

The recent replacement of a partially collapsed and corroded culvert located on Idaho 6 approximately 2.5 miles north of the community of Harvard featured collaboration between several ITD maintenance crews across two different districts, which resulted in the project finishing ahead of time. Repair of the route benefits local commerce, because it is on a major trucking route for forest products being hauled to local and regional lumber and paper mills.

Pictured below is an inside look at the collapsed culvert that was replaced.

Excavation depths for this replacement, performed by contractor M.L. Albright and Sons of Lewiston, ranged from 19 to 25 feet below the roadway surface.

The new installation was a 100-foot-long, heavier-gauge, metal culvert. The thicker gauge helps resist corrosion from the acidic quality of surrounding native soils. The work involved collaboration between District 2's Moscow/Potlatch Maintenance crew (Bud Converse, foreman), D2's Traffic Services Crew (Rod Parsells, foreman) and District 1's St. Maries/Santa Maintenance crew (Ross Farrell, foreman).

"Replacing this culvert was a real challenge," said Converse. "The way all parties jumped in to help was impressive. Our survey crew staked it and got us pipe notes. The Potlatch Maintenance crew worked a short work week to be able to inspect the project on the weekend with no overtime. District 1's St. Maries/Santa crew was instrumental in traffic control and information by setting up and changing messages on variable message boards on the north end of the project. District 2's Traffic Services (signing and striping) crew helped move VMS around, as well as additional signs and barricades, and got the pavement striped in a moment's notice."

"The coordination was made more difficult when a fire broke out within the project limits along the highway just prior to the original start date, which postponed the project for a few weeks," he added.

"With the collaboration between districts, crews, the contractor and the Department of Lands, this project was completed ahead of schedule, with a minimum impact on local and commercial traffic, with the majority of the work being done over the weekend."

The project was completed by 5 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 29) rather than extending, as expected, to Sunday midnight. The road would have been closed to all through traffic throughout the weekend until the replacement was complete. The early completion allowed crews to open the road to two lanes. By finishing early, it allowed the road to be open to travel during the evening as people returned home and prepared for the coming work week.


Published 10-16-15