For ditch work we commonly use a shovel, pick mattock for digging out silt filled ditches.   A long handled claw cultivator is a good tool for removing leaves and smaller branches from a ditch and saves a lot of unnecessary bending over.









We also remove vegetation from road shoulders and branches from trees that are getting into the drainage.  Some good tools  to bring would be a smaller hand pruning shears, lopper, pruning saw and a grass whip.






For cleaning culverts a long handled cultivator is good for pulling out debris.  For inlets and outlets that have been filling in we use shovels and pick mattocks.  It is always a good idea to have a flashlight along so that you can shine a light into the culvert to see if it is blocked or not and if it is blocked to see what and how it is blocked. 


Sometimes larger rocks roll and block the inlet of a culvert stopping the flow of water.  Rockbars are very useful for prying rocks away from outlets.  NEVER TRY TO REMOVE DEBRIS BLOCKING CULVERTS WHEN THEY ARE FLOWING FAST OR THE BLOCKAGE HAS CREATED A DAM HOLDING BACK A LOT OF WATER!  This is a very dangerous situation.  Wait for the water level to go down or contact the road manager!





When working on forest roads with bridges flat shovels are good to use for cleaning the bridge deckings, (surfaces).  If debris remains on a bridge deck very long it can cause serious damage.  Concrete bridges have areas along the shoulder to drain off water.  When these become clogged and the debris remain saturated during winter freezing and thawing over time will breakup the concrete surface.  With prolonged deposits of debris on wooden bridges can cause rotting.