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Campos Zaldiernas, Javier. Díaz García, Sarai. Galán Alguacil, Álvaro. González Pérez, Javier.

risk assessment considering the current and the forecasted scenario. Since the economic
repercussion of the actions to be undertaken can be considered virtual benefits, it is
possible to carry out a profitability analysis of the set of potential remedial works previously
determined, according to the service life of each action considered.

Once this analysis is performed, it is possible to prioritize the actions according to the profitability
indicators provided in the short, medium and long term, not only to evaluate the profitability of
different potential actions in the same asset, but to select the most profitable updates linked
to the set of culverts studied of a particular railway network, and prioritizing its implantation
during a reference period of time.
The type of remedial works to be implemented in the profitability analysis fit the most common
pathologies detected in culverts:

• Restitution of the culvert barrels (increasing hydraulic capacity of the culvert during peak
flows).
• Erosion protection measures at inlets/outlets.
• Restitution and repair works in headwalls and wingwalls, according to the current condition
of the asset.
• Restitution and repair works inside the culvert barrels, leakage prevention measures.

• Removal of blockage elements (debris and vegetation) inside the culvert barrels.

In conclusion, this works outlines the necessity of having a methodology for identifying and
prioritizing investments projects in culvert maintenance widely supported by robust applications
capable of massively analysing overall culvert risk conditions in transport networks. Global
analysis of the results could lead to the establishment of a common management framework
including alert and support-decision systems implementation in the planning and execution of
investments in preventive maintenance actions of culverts.
5. Acknowledgments

The development of the methodology proposed in this document and its application has been
carried out thanks to the development of specific calculation and management tools inside the
HidraSmart-CM (Culvert Management) project (Hidralab S.L.)

6. References

• Balkham M., Fosbeary C., Kitchen A., Rickard C., 2010. Culvert design and operation guide.
CIRIA Publishing, London, UK.
• Federal Highway Administration, 2010. Culvert assessment and decision-making procedures
manual. U.S.Department of Transportation.
• Galán A., Diaz S., Gonzalez J., 2016. Erosión local a la entrada y a la salida de obras de
drenaje transversal. XXVII Congreso latinoamericano de Hidráulica, 2016.
• Najafi M., Bhattachar, D., 2010. Development of a culvert inventory and inspection
framework for asset management of road structures. Journal of King Saud UniversityScience
32, 243-254.

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