| Paul Gillis |
Taking good advantage of favorable weather, work on the Stevens Brook Culvert replacement has progressed well. On Tuesday, the bottom segments of the culvert were placed. These are manufactured of precast concrete offsite, hauled by truck to New Gloucester and set in place with a crane.
Once the segments were in place, large stones were placed around the perimeter and the bottom filled with stream bed material previously removed from the basin. This will allow aquatic wildlife access to the culvert and help restore natural stream conditions. The new culvert is positioned so the top of the stream bed material aligns with the bottom of the upstream pond. As before, the pond will provide a water source for the dry hydrant, enhancing fire protection capabilities for the Town.
The dry hydrant intake pipe and connector 
Soon the top precast concrete segments will be placed, fitting the pieces snugly together, not unlike children’s blocks. Then work will progress quickly with backfilling around the culvert, putting the road bed in place, removing the pumps, and allowing water to flow through the new culvert.
Quiz Time:
- If 12″ of stream bed material is placed in the bottom of the 18’W x 46’L culvert, approximately how many cubic yards of material will be returned to the site?
A. 92 cubic yards
B. 30 cubic yards
C. 276 cubic yards - If the trucks hauling the material carry 10 cubic yards per load, approximately how many truck loads will be needed?
A. 10 loads
B. 3 loads
C. 30 loads - If 2,200 cubic yards of sediment were removed from the site to deepen the pond to its natural level, approximately what percentage of that material is being returned for placing in the bottom of the culvert?
A. 15%
B. 1%
C. 5%
