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Field measurements were carried out on a steel culvert in Poznan in Poland. The steel culvert is a pipe arch with a span of 8.9 m, a height of 7.76 m, and a soil cover of 1.8 m. This road culvert and a parallel pedestrian steel culvert were used to replace a severely corroded concrete railway bridge. The steel culverts were erected and backfilled without closing busy track railway. The steel culverts were instrumented to measure steel stress and deformations during backfilling and load testing. Two locomotives with a total weight of 2360 kN were used for load testing. The measured steel stress and displacements during load testing were recorded with the locomotives placed at various locations (static) and also during braking. The steel stress and deformations from live loading were small compared with the steel stress and deformations during backfilling. The measured steel stress from live loading was less than 7 MPa, and displacements were less than 0.5 mm. The measurements also show that long-span pipe arches perform well without longitudinal thrust beams and circumferential stiffening ribs. Long-term measurements were also taken in the period after the end of construction from March 1998 until December 2000 and indicated very good performance of the structure. The structure received a prize for engineering excellence due to innovative construction and aesthetic appearance.

Thousands of culverts in the highway and railway system are in various states of deterioration, ranging from minor serviceability problems to serious functional and safety problems. One of the most effective ways to restore an old culvert to a functional condition is slip lining, the process of lining an old culvert with a new prefabricated one. Field measurements carried out on a 100-year-old brick culvert in Poland slip lined with a corrugated steel plate culvert (CSPS) are described. The new steel culvert is a pipe arch with a span of 4.26 m and height of 2.95 m. The steel culvert was assembled inside the old brick culvert without stopping traffic on the road. The space between the old culvert and the new steel culvert was filled with concrete with a compressive strength of 15 MPa. The old brick culvert was instrumented to measure strains under test load. The new steel culvert was instrumented to measure strains during the backfilling and test load. Earth pressure cells were installed in the foundation below the steel culvert to measure the pressure of the CSPS onto the subsoil. A truck with a total weight of 321 kN was used for the test load. The measured strains during test load were recorded when the truck was placed at various locations. Measurements show interaction between the old and new culvert. The redistribution of stresses that can indicate strengthening of the brick culvert was observed. Long-term measurements were taken 1 year (2001) and about 3 years (2003) after the slip lining was installed. The structure was also analyzed with the finite element method (FEM). The stress distribution obtained from the 2003 test is similar to the distribution obtained from the finite element method.

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