I need to call in a professional but I’m not sure who to call and I’m hoping someone here can help me.
We bought our house in June. It has a long gravel driveway which at one point crosses a deep disused railroad cut. At the point where it crosses the cut, there is a large cement culvert at the bottom and then fill on top of it to road level.
I noticed a small amount of erosion on the inside curve of this portion of the overpass last fall. The erosion is only at the top and it’s very minor, but of course it’s not going to get any better and the recent rains have confirmed my suspicion that I need to call someone in to assess it.
One issue is that at that point the overpass is actually banked in the wrong direction, causing water to run over the edge. I also am not at all certain there is enough grade to support the driveway on that side, and the driveway is about 15 feet above the railroad cut at that point so the dropoff is kind of scary.
This is our only way into and out of our property, so it’s vital that it is fixed correctly. I could probably call some redneck who does excavating, but I want to know what kind of engineer or other authority deals specifically in questions of grade, compaction, drainage, etc.
Specifically, a civil engineer that specializes in roads (transportation). There are five main types of civil engineer: transportation, structural, hydraulic, environmental, and geotechnical. Although, in your case, a surveyor ought to be able to help you.
ETA: Some surveyors are also engineers, who invariably went through a civil engineering program. Depending on the state, they are required to have an engineering degree, and pass similar tests as professional engineers. That’s probably your best bet.
Sprockets, if you are in the US, your civil engineer should be a registered civil engineer.
He will have is professional engineering license known as a PE.
If you hire an individual, he/she absolutley must have it. Ask him/her straight up. His/her business card will have ‘PE’ after his/her name.
If you go to a civil engineering consulting firm, they will likely have PEs on their staff that oversee the non-licensed engineers. Check their web site.
Thanks to all of your for your suggestions. I’ll be calling someone very soon. There are several listings for civil engineers in the yellow pages, and now I know what questions to ask. Thanks again!
Some of the larger paving companies out there employ civil engineers. I’m sure calling some of the bigger ones who list themselves as doing commercial and residential work will be able to tell you quickly if they employ one.
(My father, retired civil engineer for the DOT works part time for my BIL’s paving firm.)