The paper presents analysis of effect of structural soil backfill parameters on load capacity of culvert made as buried flexible steel structure. The work is divided into two parts. The first part is devoted to the assumptions of the Sundquist-Pettersson method. The principles of the analysis of the structure in terms of ultimate limit strength, serviceability and fatigue in permanent and temporary calculation situations are described. The second part presents a design example of a soil steel composite bridge in the form of a closed profile culvert made of MulitiPlate-type corrugated sheet. The static and strength calculations were conducted according to the Sundquist-Pettersson method and the guidelines presented in the Eurocodes. According to the guidelines, the value of the backfill tangent modulus was determined using the simplified (A) and precise (B) methods. It was found that the modulus values determined by the simplified method were about three times lower than for the exact method, leading to very conservative, uneconomical results. The structural calculations using the tangent modulus determined by the simplified method, indicated that the load capacity of the structure was exceeded, regardless of the thickness of the backfill used (in the range from 0.5 to 5 m). The use of the tangent modulus determined using the precise method resulted in a significant reduction in stress to bearing capacity ratio of analysed parameters. Similar reduction was observed with the increase in the thickness of the backfill.