You probably didn’t know that there are 1,885 culverts under roads that are maintained by Warren County. But a recent inventory of Warren County road culverts has documented not only how many there are but also highlighted the conditions they are in.
The project was a joint effort between Warren County Department of Public Works and Warren County Department of Planning and Community Development, the latter developing a website that maps locations, shows ratings, photos and details specific findings for each culvert.
DPW staff worked with consulting company GPI Inc. to visit and inspect every county-owned culvert in Warren County, a process that began in September 2024 and stretched into the spring of 2025. They were given ratings of 1-7, with 1 being failing and 7 new or nearly new.
Five culverts received scores of 1-2, which require urgent repairs. 505 received scores of 5-7, adjudged good to excellent/new. Surveyors looked at structural components, vegetation, debris, stream alignment, guiderails and more.
Warren County Department of Works Superintendent Kevin Hajos said the data allows his staff to determine which culverts are in urgent need of repairs, and which can be moved to the back of the maintenance schedule. Work by the DPW staff has begun to address the high priority culverts, and the Planning Department is applying for grant funding.
“The ones we can’t do with county staff we will put out to bid,” Hajos explained.
Hajos noted that about 6 percent of the 1,885 culverts could not be fully accessed for complete assessments, so additional visits will have to be conducted to complete data for them.
“In those we found an end of the culvert they could not get into, so those are ones our staff will be looking at,” Hajos explained.
The Planning Department’s Geographical Information Systems team used the data from the assessments to produce an interactive website that provides an accessible dashboard for public works departments.
The DPW plans to work with municipalities, to assist them in creating similar inventories for their crossings. And the Planning Department will work with them to create a similar inventory website dashboard.
“This is going to aid us in appropriate, precise application of our resources,” explained Bolton Supervisor Ron Conover, chairman of the Board of Supervisors Public Works Committee.
You can watch discussion of the culvert inventory by Hajos and the Board of Supervisors at this YouTube link, starting at the 39-minute mark.
(Photo shows culvert on Corinth Road in Queensbury that was to be replaced in 2025)
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