Circumferentially slotted bolt hole connections, a new concept for corrugated metal culverts, have proven to be effective in reducing thrust stress (ring compression) in deep embankment installations. Pragmatically, this means that slotted-joint culverts can be buried deeper than standard-joint culverts, or lighter-gauge metal can be used. However, because of the present lack of design tables and guidelines, this economical innovation has far from reached its full application potential. In an attempt to fill this need, a complete design methodology employing an experimentally verified culvert-joint-soil system model with analytical solutions along with a set of realistic design criteria is offered in this paper. The design methodology is used to generate a sequence of design tables for 6-in. x 2-in. corrugated steel pipes with slotted joints, in which the tables specify the maximum allowable fill height cover as a function of pipe diameter, wall thickness (gauge), and soil stiffness. Even though the design methodology is conservative, the slotted-joint pipes can, in some cases, sustain fill heights more than twice those of standard pipes if good-structural-quality soil is used. On the other hand, when poor-quality soil is used, the slotted-joint pipes do not provide a gain in allowable fill height.