Corrugated Steel Box Culverts

A964/A964M: Standard Specification for Corrugated Steel Box Culverts

When designing and constructing essential infrastructure like drainage systems and small bridges, engineers rely on industry-leading standards to ensure safety, performance, and durability. ASTM A964/A964M, the "Standard Specification for Corrugated Steel Box Culverts," provides that authoritative framework, offering proven guidance for a critical component in civil engineering projects.

What is A964/A964M?

ASTM A964/A964M establishes the material, geometric, and wall section properties for steel box culverts. Originating from ASTM Committee A05 on Metallic-Coated Iron and Steel Products, this standard ensures that corrugated steel box culverts manufactured from plate or sheet, with or without integrated stiffeners, meet specified quality and performance criteria for field assembly. Its primary purpose is to provide a consistent and reliable baseline for the design and fabrication of these structures.

Scope & Purpose

This comprehensive standard governs the manufacturing specifications for steel box culverts, including requirements for corrugated plate, attached stiffeners, fasteners, and optional components like steel invert plates and headwalls. It is applicable to structures used for gravity flow drainage, such as storm drains and culverts, as well as for small bridges and grade separations. Importantly, A964/A964M explicitly excludes requirements for foundation design, backfill, and the detailed structural analysis linking earth cover and live loads to strength, directing users to other authoritative documents for these aspects. It also does not cover hydraulic design.

Who Must Comply?

• • Primary audience: Civil Engineers, Structural Engineers, Project Managers, Contractors, and Material Specifiers.
• • Industries affected: Civil Engineering, Construction, Transportation, and Public Works.
• • Compliance nature: Typically voluntary, but often mandated by project specifications, local ordinances, or government contracts.
• • Enforcement: Compliance is typically verified by project engineers, quality assurance inspectors, and regulatory bodies during project review and construction oversight.

Key Requirements Overview

The standard requires that all corrugated steel box culverts conform to defined material specifications for the steel plates and any associated stiffeners. Professionals must ensure that the geometric dimensions, including span and rise, and the specified corrugation profiles meet the requirements outlined in the standard. Key provisions include detailed classifications for different types of box culverts, each offering distinct structural properties based on corrugation and stiffener configurations. The standard also mandates the use of appropriate fasteners for secure field assembly and outlines requirements for protective coatings, such as galvanization, to ensure long-term durability.

Related Standards & References

ASTM A964/A964M works in conjunction with several other critical standards. ASTM A761/A761M provides specifications for the corrugated steel structural plate itself, forming the foundational material. ASTM A796/A796M offers guidance on the structural design of buried corrugated steel structures, which is essential for understanding how box culverts perform under earth cover. For broader structural design considerations, particularly for bridges and grade separations, engineers will refer to the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications.