Problem Four miles north of Cuba, New Mexico, State Highway NM-96 crosses into the Jicarilla Indian Reservation. Where this asphalt road passes over an arroyo, a multi-plate culvert (14 feet tall, 21 feet wide, and 115 feet long) was constructed 22 feet below the road surface to allow spring mountain runoff to drain away. Over time, the roadway above this culvert had settled as much as six inches. In response, the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) contracted URETEK to identify weak soil zones between the road and the culvert and around the culvert itself. Analysis Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) tests revealed strong base and sub-base soils above the crown of the culvert, but also revealed poor soil compaction and large, deep voids in several key weight-bearing locat

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