Service

Culvert Installation

Culverts sized and set to actually carry the water, not just look installed.

A culvert that's too small, set at the wrong grade, or backfilled wrong will wash out the first time water really moves. Rangefinder Excavation installs culverts across West Texas for driveways, ranch roads, and road crossings — concrete and metal, single and twin runs, sized to the drainage they're actually handling.

We've set plenty of culverts under active ranch roads and rural driveways since 2018, and we know the difference between a culvert that survives its first flash flood and one that doesn't.

Twin concrete culverts installed in a trench crossing

What's Included

Driveway culvert installation and replacement
Ranch road and low-water crossing culverts
Twin and multi-barrel culvert runs for higher flow
Concrete headwall and apron construction
Trenching, bedding, and proper backfill compaction
Grading tie-in to the surrounding road or driveway

Why It Matters

Culverts sized to real watershed flow, not guesswork
Proper bedding and compaction to prevent settling
Concrete headwall construction in-house
Experience with both driveway and heavy ranch-road crossings

Our Process

Size the culvert to the drainage

We assess the watershed and expected flow at the crossing to size the culvert correctly — undersizing is the #1 reason culverts fail.

Excavate and bed the trench

The trench is excavated to grade and bedded properly so the culvert sits level and supported along its full length.

Set and backfill

The culvert is set to grade, and backfill is placed and compacted in lifts around it — rushed backfill is the second most common cause of failure.

Headwalls and finish grade

Where called for, we form and pour concrete headwalls and aprons, then finish grade the road or driveway surface over the crossing.

Culvert Installation Gallery

Excavator placing a concrete culvert in a trench

Concrete culvert pipe detail before backfill

Pouring a concrete headwall for a culvert

Twin culverts set in a road crossing trench

Twin culvert installation nearing completion

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know what size culvert I need?

It comes down to the size of the watershed draining to that crossing and how intense the local rainfall gets. We calculate this rather than defaulting to whatever pipe is on the truck.

Why did my old culvert wash out?

Most culvert failures come down to being undersized, set at the wrong grade, or backfilled without proper compaction. We diagnose the old installation before replacing it so the new one doesn't repeat the same failure.

Do you install culverts for county or private road crossings?

Yes, both. Private ranch road and driveway crossings are most of our culvert work, but we can also coordinate installations that need to meet county specifications.