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Maine Culvert Collapse


mobilene
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http://www.wmtw.com/video/17144859/index.html

 

Because of storms and flooding, a segment Maine route 136 eroded right into the Androscoggin River. I think this happened in July. A TV photographer captured it -- the video is remarkable.

 

Amazing timing for the footage. I was sure glad that there were no cars coming into view during the filming too.

 

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Because I was chained to my desk at work today watching automated tests run (snooooozzzz) I was able to research the story. Turns out that road runs along the river, and heavy rains had brought other partial washouts through the summer.

 

Not that it matters, but you can imagine the dynamic of that road failure. The culvert under the road is overwhelmed as is evident in some of the water crossing the road rather than flowing through the culvert, which may be partially blocked or at capacity.

 

The road isn’t very wide, and the water pressure forces even a tiny opening alongside the culvert, or the culvert itself leaks or fails under pressure, aiding in opening a path.. Then the water quickly erodes the soft soil into a tunnel which itself is quickly expanded by the water flowing through it.

 

You can see in the video when the tunnel under the roadbed begins to take most of the creek flow. From there on it can only be a matter of a few seconds to minutes before the unsupported roadbed falls into what was a tunnel, and is now a canyon.

 

I learned all this from building dirt and gravel dams in the steep street we lived on before I was 10. You may ask me other civil engineering questions if you like, and I will provide equally powerful insights into Bridges and Structures (also known by the engineering term “BS”).

 

Fun to watch, and now I know how thin Maine lays its pavement. :o Was that asphalt laid on an unconsolidated dirt base? Ya Ya, I know, WGD (Who Gives a Damn!)

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Dave

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Was that asphalt laid on an unconsolidated dirt base? Ya Ya, I know, WGD (Who Gives a Damn!)

 

I can give a damn about all sorts of trivial subjects.

 

I was wondering the same thing myself, although I was wondering it in purely layman's terms: "What the? Did they lay asphalt right on top of the dirt?"

 

Here's a photo of a similar sight from Terre Haute, Ind., in June when much of southern Indiana had flooding. Looks like we learned how to build roads from the folks in Maine.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28711155@N06/2677140759/

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I can give a damn about all sorts of trivial subjects.

 

I was wondering the same thing myself, although I was wondering it in purely layman's terms: "What the? Did they lay asphalt right on top of the dirt?"

 

Here's a photo of a similar sight from Terre Haute, Ind., in June when much of southern Indiana had flooding. Looks like we learned how to build roads from the folks in Maine.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28711155@N06/2677140759/

 

Jim and Chris,

 

Like a lot of other things, I know very little about road building. Maybe the natural Indiana and Maine soil is stable enough to allow laying asphalt right on top the rolled dirt.

 

To change the subject just a bit, the methods of effective road building were hotly debated in the early part of the 1900’s. I was reading some 1914 & 15 road travel magazines the other day and they had article after article on the merits, or lack thereof, of different materials and methods. The best methods and materials were not self evident and of course the brick, concrete, and oil people had fortunes hanging in the balance.

 

At least back then the scale was something the average smuck like me could comprehend.

 

Oh, and just to protect against the obvious come back line “I have never considered you an AVERAGE Smuck!” I’ll post it first! ;)

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Dave

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That video was amazing - Pretty neat that the videographer was in the right place at the right time.

 

The picture from Terre Haute is pretty neat too. I wonder where on Woodsmall rd. that is? Woodsmall crosses the old Wabash and Erie canal - could this be the spot? There are also several other creek culverts on the road. I used to live in Riley, and took Woodsmall to get to the mall in Terre Haute. I even recall sliding sideways on ice at 35mph down Woodsmall with a friend driving - somehow he managed to get it back on the road and straightened out without hitting any signposts...

 

Wes

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I used to live in Terre Haute and worked at ACD, just up SR 46 from Riley, just south of I-70. I've driven Woodsmall many times myself, and it was a road I avoided in the rain and snow, because it was narrow and got slick in a hurry. I don't know where the road washed out; sure would like to.

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