Effective and Economical Cleaning of Pipes and Underdrains \u2013 Phase II

SJN 135531The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) maintains 43,000 lane miles of roadway in order to allow the public to safely and efficiently travel throughout Ohio. One of the tasks that ODOT is responsible for is the maintenance of drainage assets. ODOT utilizes a vacuum jet truck (VJT) to clean all drainage assets. The size, required manpower, lack of mobility, and cost to operate the VJT suggest that ODOT should investigate alterative equipment. A new hydro-jet style technology called the modified cleaning system (MCS) was designed to clean drainage infrastructure. The purpose of this research is to compare the current practices of ODOT to new technology in order to improve the drainage cleaning operations. The research team recommends the use of the MCS for cross drains, driveway pipes, and underdrains with diameters from 4 to 12 in. that do not require the ability to vacuum in order to be considered clean; however, throughout the report the MCS successfully cleaned assets with diameters ranging up to 48 in