A method is proposed for design of reinforced concrete pipe installed in embankment conditions under high fills. At the current stage, the method is restricted to pipes bedded in the natural soil. The method widely used at this time has seen little change since its introduction more than 40 years ago, and recent research has indicated that it is highly conservative for present practice. A study of the complex soil-structure interaction system has been made by using the finite-element method. A simplified linear-elastic approach has enabled comparison of three-edge bearing test conditions with those encountered by a pipe in the field in such a way as to provide curves suitable for a rapid design procedure. Justification for such an approach can be obtained from review of field response data for such conditions. For a large-scale field study the method predicts the cover height to produce cracking within about 20 percent, whereas the conventional procedure provides a safety margin in the ratio of 4.6: 1.(Author)