Instrumentation and monitoring of Large-Span Culvert Built under a Railway in Finland

Large span soil-steel culverts are rarely used in Finland as vehicular underpasses. The large span and low soil cover height together with high traffic loads place high demands on the construction of culvert backfills. Traffic-induced stress changes and the fatigue resistance of the plates play a major role in the endurance of a culvert. According to design calculations, the most critical section of the culvert is the crown. For this reason, the focus of this project is on the assessment of the structural behaviour and performance of the crown area under the influence of traffic load. The structural performance of the culvert was verified by monitoring stress changes and deformations under live railway traffic, which proved the suitability of the multi-plated culvert built under a railway.