Specialists in Precast & Prestressed Concrete Products

BOX CULVERT

Box Culverts
Shay Murtagh Precast manufacture a wide range of box culverts. These culverts can be used for
a variety of applications and are designed, manufactured and delivered by Shay Murtagh.
Shay Murtagh is not limited to culvert sizes and can provide for larger boxes to project specific
design. This can be catered for with UAN sections and portal frames. Conversely, smaller
sections are also possible and can be three sided if desired.

D es ig n a n d D et a i l i n g
Our Technical team typcially design and detail box culverts
in accordance with BD 31/01, BD 37/01 and BS 5400: Part
4. Culverts that do not carry highway loading may be
specified to BS 8110 if preferred. Permissable dimensional
deviations are in accordance with BS 8110.
The lowest grade of concrete used is C50 with a 20mm
maximum size of aggregate, a minimum cement content
of 430kg/m3 and a maximum free water content ratio of
0.5. The nominal cover to reinforcement is typically 30mm
in accordance with BS 5400: Part 4 unless specified otherwise. An experienced team of engineers and technicians
backed by Cad facilities provides a flexible and comprehensive design and detailing service enabling the clients
design and specification criteria to be satisfied.

S u r fa ce Lo a d i n g a n d
F i l l D e pt h
Live loading applied at the ground surface and the weight
of fill material produce a combination of vertical and
horizontal forces on the box culvert. Live loading may be
specified as a standard vehicle loading type, equivalent
uniform loading or individual wheel loads. The critical
overall loading arrangement for a culvert can correspond to
the minimum or maximum relevant depth of fill above the
culvert.
Each enquiry for a culvert should state the minimum and
maximum possible relevant fill depth and the magnitude
and/or type of live loading. It is recommended that the
minimum fill depth should be not less than 600mm.

D e l i ve r y a n d
O ff l o a d i n g

B e d d i n g , L ay i n g a n d
Backfilling

It is the contractor's responsibility to offload the lorry

delivering the culverts at the nearest hard road. Certain
box culverts are delivered to site on end rather than as laid
for reasons of safety and economy. These units will require
a safe method of turning during offloading. A data sheet
giving guidance on lifting and turning is available and is
issued to clients prior to first delivery. Box culverts should
be offloaded using suitable cranage and stacked carefully
on a firm level base away from the edge of the excavation
trench, and should never be dragged or dropped.

Excavation can be kept to a minimum with only nominal

working space required on each side of the box culvert.
When working in trenches the normal requirements for
safety must be observed. The base of the trench should be
uniformly prepared before laying a 200mm bedding of
compacted granular material over the full width of the
trench.
A surface blinding of fine material will assist levelling. Local
packings are subject to settlement and should not be used.
As an alternative to 200mm of granular bedding a concrete
blinding layer is sometimes preferred to protect the formation or to allow a faster rate of laying culverts. A layer of
unreinforced concrete approximately 75mm thick on a
trench bottom which has been well prepared to provide a
uniform support is generally acceptable, although a 50mm
layer of granular material should be used above the
concrete.
A culvert line is usually laid directly on the bedding starting
from the downstream end with the sockets facing
upstream, to receive the next culvert. The trench should be
backfilled as soon as possible after the culvert has been laid
and it should be filled evenly on each side of the trench.
Backfilling should continue in 200mm compacted layers to
the required depth. Where loads from construction plant
may exceed the design live load of the box culvert protective measures will be required. This is particularly relevant
at shallow fill depths.

Joint i n g
The culvert sections have rebated joints and can be laid open, or
sealed using preformed strips and/or pointing materials. Reference should be made to the joining material manufactures
specification and recommendation for the use of the product. A
system using preformed strip within the joint is most commonly
used. When the strip is bitumen based the joint faces should be
cleaned, primed and allowed to dry.
The strip is then applied to the internal corner of the socket just
before the culvert is laid in the trench. Joints are closed to a
nominal gap by pulling against previously laid culverts with an
applied load of approximately one tonne per metre of strip plus
about half of the weight of the culvert unit to overcome base
friction. The applied load can be less if the unit is suspended
from the crane whilst jointing. Heat may be required to soften
the joint strip when working at low temperature. Where the box
culvert is of sufficient size for access, it can be pointed internally
with an elastomeric or bitumen based material using a suitable
primer. Not all methods of jointing, however, should be
expected to be completely watertight.

Shay Murtagh Precast

also manufacture and
supply accessories to
culverts such as wing
walls and header
beams to project
specifications

Shay Murtagh Limited

Raharney, Mullingar
Co. Westmeath, Ireland.
IR Tel: 353-44-9374108/9374149
IR Fax: 353-44-9374552
Website: www.shaymurtagh.ie
Email: sales@shaymurtagh.ie

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UK Tel: 0844 202 0263

Website: www.shaymurtagh.co.uk
Email: sales@shaymurtagh.co.uk

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