Often, and especially in rural areas, road crossings over streams or rivers are installed with little regard to how they affect what is beneath the road. Improperly sized culverts and errors in designing roads can lead to changes in how a stream flows. This can affect water velocity, the shape of the stream, and lead to erosion.

One project where we were able to rectify an improper road crossing was conducted in the winter of 2003. At Schinella-Mottes Construction Co. in Iron River, we were able to replace a two culvert road crossing with a bridge. The culverts that had been there were too small to allow for uninhibited passage of water beneath the road. Because of this, the river backed up behind the crossing and accelerated the water that traveled through the pipe. This situation caused scouring to occur on the stream banks and bottom and, at certain times of the year could limit passage of young fish through the culvert to the upstream side. By installing a bridge we restored a larger, more natural flow that allows for the passage of trout to their upstream spawning areas, and greatly reduces the likelihood of erosion. (See project photo series below.)