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Hydraulics

The Hydraulics Unit is a small but dynamic group of professionals with the primary function of supporting the design and permitting of bridges and culverts that are compatible with Vermont’s rivers and streams. This involvement in the design process is aligned with VTrans’ strategic goal to, “provide a safe and resilient transportation system in an environmentally responsible manner.” The Hydraulics Unit is trained in the specialty areas of hydrology, fluvial geomorphology, aquatic organism passage, bridge scour, and sediment transport. The following supplemental information has been developed to aid local stakeholders that have received a hydraulics report from the VTrans Hydraulics Unit. 

 

Supplemental Information for District Hydraulic Studies

Hydraulic Studies

  • Introduction
  • Functional Classification
  • Resources
  • Nature of this Material

Design Criteria and Standards

  • Headwater Depth
  • Freeboard
  • Overtopping
  • Stone Fill
  • Channel Equilibrium
  • Aquatic Organism Passage

Hydraulics Typical Drawings

  • Embedded Box Culvert
  • Open Bottom Arch
  • “Equalizer” Box Culvert
  • Box Culvert on Intermittent Streams
  • Fish Baffles and Liner Projects
  • Typical Channel Section

General Comments

  • Flared Wingwalls and Full Height Headwalls
  • Bed Retention Sills
  • Shallow Bedrock Profile
  • Open Bottom Structures
  • Cover Limitations
  • Debris and Constructability
  • Stone Fill Slope Protection
  • Historic Structures
  • ANR River Management
  • Regulatory Authorities
  • Backwater
  • A More Detailed Study
  • Town and District Hydraulic Studies

 

Nick Wark, P.E.
Hydraulics Engineer

Nick.Wark@vermont.gov
(802) 828-3987