The State Road (SR) 715 Culvert Replacement project initially included milling and resurfacing along with 50 feet of reconstruction at the location of the proposed 60” culvert crossing. The surrounding areas are rural with heavy fertilizer use and fumigation, with the South Florida Conservancy District Lateral (SFCD) 1-2 Canal crossing the site in the east-west direction. SR 715 is also known as NW 16th Street in this section of the City of Belle Glade. Based on the heavy truck use, one lane of traffic was required to remain open at all times, making maintenance of traffic (MOT) a large component of this project.

WGI took over the project as part of its FDOT Districtwide contract and was tasked with converting the original pipe replacement plans from a “pushbutton project” to a bid set of plans. During the initial project review, WGI investigated the use of a “spun concrete” pipe rehabilitation liner and found that this alternative would be a viable option for this culvert. This rehabilitation technique eliminated the need for replacing the culvert, which eliminated the extensive MOT as no open cuts of the roadway were required.

The spun concrete liner provided a complete pipe rehabilitation, provided structural support for both the pipe and the road, and eliminated the need for expensive lane shifts and MOT associated with open cut pipe replacement. The WGI change to the plans resulted in a project cost savings of $150K to FDOT.