The City of Toronto owns over one hundred and fifty large culverts with diameters larger than 3 metres, and countless smaller culverts, all of which are affected in some way by changes in the climate. The collapse of the Finch Avenue culvert during the August 19, 2005 storm event highlights the importance of these pieces of infrastructure. The subsequent reconstruction of the culvert, utilities and roadway directly cost the City millions of dollars and the closure of Finch Avenue for 14 months caused immeasurable social and financial impacts to affected residents and businesses within the City.
In an attempt to mitigate future impacts resulting from culvert failures, the City has undertaken several initiatives to examine how it can better manage its infrastructure, particularly considering a changing climate. The current study, completed in conjunction with Engineers Canada, has evaluated three culverts within the City utilizing the Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee (PIEVC) Protocol. While this study has evaluated three specific culverts, it is anticipated that the results will be representative of other culverts and can be used as the City develops adaptive management measures for all culverts. Additionally, the recommendations provided as part of this study can provide a starting point to guide the City’s operation and management of their culvert inventory.