October 29, 2025

Precast concrete box culverts enable fish passage for bridge replacement

Precast concrete box culverts enable fish passage for bridge replacement

Precast concrete box culvert bridge replacement

Precast concrete box culverts replaced an aging bridge in Putnam, CT, preventing erosion and preserving fish passage in the brook that flows beneath.

 

The situation: aging infrastructure

Danco Road is a small road on the outskirts of Putnam, Connecticut that connects Park Road—and by extension I-395—with several local small businesses.

The road crosses Perry Brook, and the bridge over this small tributary of the Quinebaug River was determined to be in dire need of repair. The bridge culvert, originally made with corrugated metal pipe, had corroded away, and the bed of the brook was suffering from erosion.

Putnam Mayor Barney Seney told local radio station WINY that the town’s bridge inspection program had identified the bridge on Danco Road as being in poor condition:

“So, in the last eight years we’ve had a program to address this issue, and the Danco Road bridge was one of the bridges that, when it was inspected, it was determined that it was ready to fail.”

The town decided that the bridge needed to be replaced.

 

The challenge: disruption, erosion and fish passage

While the bridge is small—under 20 ft long—its replacement nonetheless presented challenges.

In the first instance, the roadway could not be closed down completely as it was the only route leading to and from the businesses and local residents.

In addition, the bridge needed to enable Perry Brook to flow freely beneath it, preventing erosion beneath the road and allowing fish to continue to pass.

 

The solution: precast concrete box culverts

The town made $1.6M available for the bridge replacement project—half funded from Putnam’s capital improvement funds, and half funded by grants from the State of Connecticut—and specified that the bridge be replaced by a series of four-sided precast concrete box culverts.

The town engaged general contractor NJR Construction of Thomaston, CT to carry out the work, and NJR Construction identified Oldcastle Infrastructure’s precast concrete box culverts as the preferred solution.

Supplied by the nearby Avon, CT plant, the box culverts are strong, versatile and extremely durable, providing corrosion resistance and design lifetimes of over 100 years.

“The placement of the new precast concrete box culvert bridge was the critical component of the project and needed to be fabricated and ready to be delivered to the project to meet our very aggressive schedule,” said Nicholas Mancini Jr, President of NJR Construction. “Tony Letizio of Oldcastle Infrastructure was instrumental in making sure the precast was properly fabricated and ready for delivery as our schedule required. Mr. Letizio maintained contact with our office and field personal throughout the entire process, allowing us to perform the work required for stage 1 of the project ahead of schedule.”

 

The outcome: safe infrastructure and environmental preservation

Although the project was delayed several times due to flooding caused by intense summer storms, the bridge replacement was carried out successfully and the new bridge is now in place.

The bases of the precast concrete box culverts were lined with small stones to prevent erosion and to provide a naturalistic riverbed to support the aquatic environment of Perry Brook, and the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) has expressed satisfaction with its implementation.

Aging infrastructure is an acute issue across the US, and the Danco Road bridge is a perfect example of how even the smallest structures are in need of attention. With the 100+ year lifetime of precast concrete, however, this small bridge replacement project will have a lasting impact on the environment that surrounds it.

“Precast concrete is not often thought of as an environmental solution, but it all comes down to how it’s used,” said Emily Schneider, VP of Sustainability at Oldcastle Infrastructure. “By providing a stable, durable base on which a natural substrate can take hold, the box culvert preserves the character of Perry Brook and enables fish passage as though it were a natural environment, and its corrosion resistance and reliably long lifetime mean that this brook will remain in good condition for many decades to come.”

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