Prospect Hill Street Culvert Replacement

BETA provided the design, permitting, and construction monitoring for a large-diameter culvert replacement project on Prospect Hill Street in Taunton, MA. The culvert straddled the border between Raynham (to the east) and Taunton (to the west). A 36” corrugated metal pipe (CMP) culvert ran beneath the roadway at this location, conveying an intermittent stream from east to west beneath the road. The culvert ends were secured by wet-stone masonry retaining walls. The original CMP culvert was significantly deteriorated and had gone “out of round” (deformed from circular shape to elliptical shape) at the downstream end. In addition, the masonry retaining wall on the downstream side of the culvert was cracked and progressively overturning.

The project consisted of replacing the existing deteriorated CMP culvert with a new 36” reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) culvert. In addition, the existing headwalls were replaced with geotextile-reinforced dry stone retaining walls. The original culvert and tributary watershed were hydraulically analyzed, and the replacement culvert was designed to replicate the original culvert hydraulics as closely as possible.

As the project was located in close proximity to environmental resource areas, BETA prepared and submitted Notice of Intent (NOI) applications to the Conservation Commissions of both Raynham and Taunton and provided administrative coordination of both applications throughout the review and hearing process.

Finally, BETA provided full-time resident engineering services for the project as it was constructed. The resident engineer was responsible for dealing with the contractor, residents, environmental agencies, and utility providers, and providing guidance and direction to the contractor. The project was substantially completed in December 2011.