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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
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    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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      <title>Assessment of Embedded Box Culverts for Aquatic Organism Passage</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2551253</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) designs, operates, and maintains many of the transportation systems throughout Montana. When roads intersect rivers, streams, wetlands or other water features, MDT utilizes hydraulic structures, either bridges or culverts, to pass over them. And, in situations where the waterbody has aquatic organisms, such as fish or amphibians, MDT designs the structures to not only convey water, sediment, and woody debris through them, but also to provide connectivity for aquatic species. 

In some settings, MDT designs and constructs crossings using embedded box structures with a “two” layer approach. The bottom layer in this design consists of larger rock designed to be stable and an upper layer designed to match a river channels mobile sediment regime. The upper layer is often thought of as the “active” layer as it can move with natural sediment movements in the stream or river system. 

Some state and federal agencies that review MDT projects and issue permits for them, have expressed concern with the “two” layer approach and, specifically, the use of concrete box culverts instead of open-bottom arches or bridges, in some settings. MDT also wants to ensure their designs are functioning properly by providing river and stream continuity, aquatic organism passage, and a safe, resilient road infrastructure, but at the same time not overdesign them. 

Therefore, there is a need to assess how existing box culverts designed using the “two” layer approach are functioning in terms of maintaining their sediment beds while also providing aquatic organism passage.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 12 May 2025 13:59:45 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2551253</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Design of Self-Cleaning Solutions for Mitigating Sedimentation at Twin-and Single-Box Culverts</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2509054</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Sedimentation at multi-box culverts is an ongoing maintenance issue for the crossroads located in low-gradient, erosion-prone watersheds such as those located in Iowa landscapes. Sediment deposits diminish the culvert capacity to convey peak flows leading to damages to the culvert structures and potentially create backwater upstream from culvert locations. The proposed research investigates self-cleaning solutions for the single- and twin-box culverts building on the successful experiences garnered through extended research carried out on sedimentation at culverts in Iowa. The previous research has only targeted three-box culverts as they were considered of most immediate concern to the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) at the initiation of this research in 2006. The series of previous projects developed self-cleaning designs combining inferences from field observations, hydraulic modeling, and numerical simulations. After closing the research phases, construction and in situ monitoring over several years followed. The research on three-box culverts has recently expanded to include culvert configurations and stream environments at other state DOTs in the nation through a Transportation Pooled Fund. The need for a distinct research for development of self-cleaning designs for single- and twinbox culverts stems from the fact that their hydraulics is different from culverts with odd number of boxes as the latter culvert configuration includes a central box which is used for enhancing the conveyance of the sediment. In the absence of the central box, the self-cleaning solutions for the single- and double-box culverts have to seek for altern1ative flow-deflecting geometries that take up the sediment conveyance role. We are confident that by adopting the same design principles, research strategy, and practical considerations as those utilized for the previous research on threebox culverts, we can develop new self-cleaning designs that will keep the single- and double-box culverts free of sediment without outside intervention.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:00:24 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2509054</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Concrete Box Culvert (CBC) Adaptation to Increase Ungulate Use 
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2417305</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This empirical study will explore the impact of color on the effectiveness of box culvert use by ungulates to cross beneath highways. Ungulates are deterred more by bright colors than by, for example, blue. If concrete box culverts (CBCs) can be made more effective for ungulate crossings, their use can lower the occurrence of wildlife-vehicle collisions and reduce the resulting harm to people and property, as well as to the wildlife.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 14 Aug 2024 12:10:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2417305</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Refinement of Reinforced Concrete Box Culvert Installation Guidelines</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2377861</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Reinforced Concrete Box Culverts (RCBCs) are the preferred structure when practical. This is primarily due to RCBCs being typically less expensive than a bridge, less complicated to design, and easier to construct and maintain.  RCBCs are either cast-in-place or precast and both have circumstances in which their construction type is optimum. However, there are many circumstances when choosing the best RCBC option is not clear. Factors such as site conditions, long-term performance, costs, and speed of construction can impact the final selection. The normal practice for South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) is to provide plans for cast-in-place RCBC installations and include a precast option when certain design criteria are met. Guidelines in the SDDOT Bridge Design Manual specify that if the proposed RCBC has a skew of more than 10 degrees, flared wing walls, slope-tapered aprons, side-tapered inlets, or water control structures, a precast option is not offered.   Refining these guidelines by presenting the optimum RCBC construction type, rather than presenting options, would reduce selection and design time.  Also, with the continual advancements in precast manufacturing processes, design software, and materials science, the development of refined guidelines may reveal innovative options addressing previous limitations regarding the use of precast RCBC. 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2024 15:54:32 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2377861</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Analysis of the Poplar Creek Box Culverts</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2313954</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objective of this study is to evaluate structural design of the precast concrete box culverts used on the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) construction project at Poplar Creek in Bristol District. With a maximum embankment height of 310 feet, it will be one of the deepest box culvert installations in the USA upon completion. Initially, VDOT considered a tall bridge for the mountainous region in southwest Virginia but a design change to box culverts was opted for based on the economic analysis. Significant uncertainties associated with the box culverts included the lack of generally accepted design guidelines stemming from limited practical knowledge of the actual soil stresses acting on buried structures under very high embankment fills. The proposed study is intended to address these specific knowledge gaps and develop recommendations for future VDOT designs of similar projects.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 21 Dec 2023 10:32:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2313954</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Performance Evaluation of Reinforced Concrete Box Culverts</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2050260</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The main objectives of this project are to:
(1) Collect data from field testing of up to 10 reinforced concrete box culverts to evaluate their performance under a known truck load.
(2) Evaluate live load performance, culvert capacity, and load rating using refined methods of numerical analysis validated with field test data.
(3) Calculate a refined load rating for approximately 20-30 additional culverts based on the field data and numerical analysis results to assess the impact of different culvert attributes using statistical analysis. This will allow for extrapolation of the performance trends to the larger inventory of in-service culverts.
(4) Develop a load rating decision matrix based on culvert size, soil fill depth, and other pertinent attributes to guide implementation of load rating calculations for MnDOT’s reinforced concrete box culvert inventory.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 25 Oct 2022 09:59:49 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2050260</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Developing the Load Distribution Formula for Louisiana Culverts</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1744892</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objective of this study is to develop live load distribution formulas that can be used to represent the dimensions of the affected area over buried cast-in place (CIP) reinforced concrete box culverts through an extensive parametric study that covers attributes of existing culverts in Louisiana’s bridge inventory. The proposed formulas will take into account Louisiana standard details for negative moment reinforcement at exterior corners. The developed formulas will be validated using data from LTRC project 16-3ST “Live Load Rating of Cast-in-Place Concrete Box Culverts.”]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2020 15:02:02 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1744892</guid>
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