Editing Culvert (section)

==Design and engineering==
[[File:Kanał Nowa Ulga, Wał Miedzeszyński, Warszawa 004.jpg|thumb|A culvert under the [[Vistula]] river [[levee]] and a street in [[Warsaw]]]]

Construction or installation at a culvert site generally results in disturbance of the site's soil, [[stream banks]], or [[stream bed]], and can result in the occurrence of unwanted problems such as [[Hydrodynamic scour|scour]] holes or slumping of banks adjacent to the culvert structure.<ref name="Center 1998"/><ref name="Alberta Transportation 2004">Alberta Transportation (2004). "DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR BRIDGE SIZE CULVERTS" (PDF), Original Document 1995 Alberta Transportation, Technical Standards Branch, Government of the Province of Alberta</ref>

Culverts must be properly sized and installed, and protected from [[erosion]] and scour. Many US agencies such as the [[Federal Highway Administration]], [[Bureau of Land Management]],<ref>Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management (2006). "Culvert Use, Installation, and Sizing" Chapter{{spaces}}8 (PDF), Low Volume Engineering J Chapter 8, blm.gov/bmp.</ref> and [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]],<ref>Environmental Protection Agency EPA Management (2003-07-24). "Culverts-Water" NPS Unpaved Roads Chapter{{spaces}}3 (PDF), "CULVERTS" epa.gov.</ref> as well as state or local authorities,<ref name="Alberta Transportation 2004"/> require that culverts be designed and engineered to meet specific federal, state, or local regulations and guidelines to ensure proper function and to protect against culvert failures.

Culverts are classified by standards for their load capacities, water flow capacities, life spans, and installation requirements for bedding and backfill.<ref name="Center 1998"/> Most agencies adhere to these standards when designing, engineering, and specifying culverts.