Culvert-Clearing System

A culvert-clearing system comprising:

• a base plate;
• a winch mounted to the base plate;
• a kit comprising an adapter plate, a coupler, a hydraulic motor, a hydraulic control unit, and a hydraulic pump;
• a scraper assembly comprising a scraper arm, a scraper body connected to the scraper arm at an angle, a scraper tooth, a front clevis mounted to the scraper arm, and a rear sling;
• a pulley assembly;
• and
• a winch cable routed through a culvert and configured to connect to the front clevis and to the rear sling.

A method of using a culvert-clearing system, the method comprising:

• providing a culvert-clearing system comprised of a base plate, a winch attached to the base plate, a scraper arm connected to a scraper body having a scraper tooth, a front clevis and a rear sling, a winch cable, and a pulley assembly secured to an auxiliary anchor point via a pulley clevis;
• positioning the base plate and rotating the winch via a pivot pin to align the winch with a culvert;
• inserting a flexible rod or conduit through the culvert to create a guide path;
• threading a rope through the guide path and using the rope to pull the winch cable through the culvert;
• mounting the pulley assembly to the auxiliary anchor point and routing the winch cable through the pulley and back through the culvert;
• attaching the scraper arm to the winch cable via the front clevis and connecting the rear sling to a debris-removal bucket;
• applying power to the winch and operating the winch to move the scraper assembly and debris-removal bucket through the culvert;
• and
• repeating the movement until the culvert is cleared of a debris.