NJ Turnpike – Culvert Inspections
Statewide – New Jersey
W.J. Castle, P.E. & Associates, P.C. was retained as part of a team with Michael Baker International to perform a comprehensive inspection of all NJ Turnpike Authority owned non-bridge structures. Castle performed full inspections on 58 structures, including several culverts that were partially submerged and required a dive team for the underwater inspection. Most of the structures had little to no previous information or recent reports; all applicable SI&A data needed for the Authority to fully develop their inventory database was acquired by the field teams during the inspections. This data, as well as the condition coding, photographs, drawings and other notes, was entered into InspectTech. The team worked with NJTA to customize the standard InspectTech database for their asset management needs.
All reports included repair and maintenance recommendations. One common deficiency noted was that several of the culverts exhibited varying degrees of deformation along lengths of the structure. The team worked with the Authority to develop standard measurements to take in order to monitor this deformation over time for continued movement, and then performed the baseline data collection for several structures. Additionally, we identified several structures that would quality as bridges and could be handled with the other NBIS structures owned by the Authority. Based on the experience during this baseline cycle, also co-authored an inspection procedures manual for the NJTA to provide to future clients to assure consistent data reporting.