Guide
Driveway Culvert Guide: What It Does, Signs It Is Failing, Who to Ask
A plain guide to the pipe under your drive, for Putnam and Hendricks County. No price list, because the road and the ditch decide the job.
The short answer
What a driveway culvert does
A driveway culvert is a pipe that carries the roadside ditch under your drive, so water keeps moving along the road and your drive stays dry and firm. If water backs up at the entrance, the drive dips over the pipe, or the pipe ends are crushed or buried, the culvert is failing and it is time to find out who is in charge of it.
Without the pipe, the drive would be a dam across the ditch. Water would pond on the uphill side, soak the base of the drive and then run over the top.
A culvert only works if it has fall. It has to sit at the right height in the ditch, and both ends have to be open. A pipe laid flat or set too high holds water when it should be passing it on.
What to look for
Signs a driveway culvert is failing
Water standing in the ditch
If the uphill side of the drive still holds water a day or two after rain, the pipe is blocked, crushed or set too high.
Water crossing the drive
In a hard rain the ditch should go through the pipe. If it goes over the drive, the pipe is blocked or it is too small for the water it gets.
A dip or soft spot over the pipe
A sag in the drive above the culvert usually means the pipe has collapsed, or the fill around it has washed out.
Damaged ends
Look at both ends. Ends that are crushed flat, rusted through or pulled apart from the next length of pipe do not get better.
Buried ends
An end you cannot find has silted up or been covered over. Sometimes that is all that is wrong.
Washing around the pipe
Bare soil or a hole next to the end of the pipe means water is going around the outside of it. That takes the drive with it in time.
The fix
Clean it out, reset it or replace it
A pipe that is only blocked can sometimes be dug out at the ends and cleaned through. That is the small job, and it is worth trying first if the pipe is sound.
A pipe that is crushed, rusted through, too small or sitting at the wrong height has to come out. The drive is opened up, the old pipe is lifted and the trench is shaped to the right fall. The new pipe is bedded and backfilled in compacted layers, and the stone on the drive is put back.
There are no dollar figures here. What moves the price is the length and size of the pipe, how deep it sits, what the road authority requires, how much of the drive has to be rebuilt over it and how easy it is to get a machine to it.
A bad culvert is also a common reason a drive goes soft or washes at the road end. See gravel driveway repair and regrading.
Who to ask
Who to ask about a pipe under a county road or state highway entrance
The pipe under your entrance sits in the road right of way. Whoever looks after the road has a say in its size, the height it is set at and often the kind of pipe. Ask them before you buy a pipe or book a machine.
County roads
Ask the county highway department. In Putnam County that is the Putnam County Highway Department. In Hendricks County, start with the county highway office and ask which office handles driveway permits. Each county sets its own rules on who supplies the pipe and who may install it, so ask that too.
State highways and US routes
Ask INDOT. A driveway permit is needed to connect private property to a road INDOT controls, such as US 231, US 40, US 36 or a numbered state road. Changing or moving an existing entrance needs a new application as well. Applications go through INDOT's online permit system, and the permit staff at the district office can help. The permit must be approved before any work starts in the state right of way. INDOT's driveway guide sets a minimum pipe size, the pipe materials it accepts and the end sections it wants.
City and town streets
Inside Greencastle or another town, ask the city or town office that looks after its streets.
Pipes on your own ground
A culvert on a private lane, well back from the road, is usually yours to deal with. If the ditch is a county drain or a stream, ask the county surveyor's office before you change it.
Whoever does the digging has to call Indiana 811 first. That is two full working days' notice and it is state law.
On Grade
How On Grade helps with a driveway culvert
On Grade LLC installs culverts as part of its drainage, culvert and utility installation work. We are based in Greencastle, and a single culvert is a normal job for us in Putnam County. We also work across Hendricks County.
The size and the height of a pipe in the right of way are the county's or INDOT's call. We set the pipe to what they give you. We shoot the grades so it has fall, and we rebuild the drive over it.
Building a new drive in our home county? See gravel driveways in Greencastle and Putnam County.
On the ground
Pipe and driveway work, photographed
Every photograph on this site is a job On Grade did. Nothing is stock and nothing is staged.
FAQ
Driveway culvert questions
How do I know if my driveway culvert is blocked or collapsed?
Look at both ends after rain. Water standing on the uphill side, an end you cannot find or a pipe full of silt points to a blockage. A dip in the drive over the pipe, or an end that is crushed or rusted through, points to a pipe that needs replacing.
Who decides what size culvert goes under my driveway?
Where the pipe is in the road right of way, the road authority does. That is the county highway department on a county road and INDOT on a state highway or US route. On your own ground, the pipe is sized to the water the ditch carries.
Can I replace the culvert at my road entrance myself?
Ask first. The pipe sits in the road right of way, so the county or INDOT has a say in what goes in and who may put it in. On a state highway a driveway permit has to be approved before work starts. Indiana 811 has to be called before any digging.
What does it cost to replace a driveway culvert?
It depends on the length and size of the pipe, how deep it sits, what the road authority requires and how much of the drive has to be rebuilt over it. We do not publish a price list. Travis looks at it and gives you a number, and estimates are free.
Does On Grade replace driveway culverts in Putnam County?
Yes. On Grade LLC is based in Greencastle and installs culverts across Putnam County and Hendricks County. A single culvert is a normal job close to home.
Get a number
Culvert giving trouble?
Call or text Travis with the address, the road the drive opens onto and a photo of each end of the pipe.
Sent
Got it — thank you.
Your request is in and Travis will get back to you. If you would rather talk now, call or text (317) 203-8928.