Top 10 Road Construction Equipment

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The present-day road construction industry relies on a wide range of advanced road construction equipment. In this article, we will explore some of the machinery extensively utilized for road construction work. The information provided here will aid in the preparation of tender documents and for the road construction projects.

Road Construction

Road construction has to be planned properly by studying the survey data available. Due to the construction works, it should not be a waste of expenditure and should not cause hazards to the environment. All the materials should be properly stored to prevent them from being lost to thieves and other activities. All the machinery and equipment shall be maintained and operational.

Road Construction Equipment

As discussed earlier in the introduction, we will see only the heavy machinery used in the road construction project. The equipment for road construction is as follows: –

Excavator

The excavators are one of the road construction equipment used in construction sites, usually for excavating and lifting dirt. The use of excavators in road construction is for excavation of the rock, soils and clay. It can also be used for loading the excavated earth onto the dump truck. It can be for breaking the hard rock and drilling through the rocky cliff by replacing the hydraulic breaker at the end of the boom. The boom is usually attached to the bucket for excavation.

Backhoe loader

Backhoe loaders are heavy machinery used in various construction sites for lifting, digging, demolishing pushing and transporting lighter materials. They are used for lifting and loading earth materials to dump trucks in road construction. Also, comes in handy for moving small pieces of soil, rocks and materials during construction.

Wheel loader

Wheel loader is one of the heavy machinery used in every construction site including road construction projects.  This machine is for moving excavated materials such as clay, soil, stones and rocks. It can also load the materials to the dump truck from the site of excavation.  

Bulldozer

Bulldozers are large and powerful tracked heavy equipment. They are used in road and other construction activities, mining, forestry, land clearing and other works earth moving is required. Because of the large and powerful track, they are slip-resistant when maneuvering in san and muddy ground surfaces.

Motor Grader

Motor graders are used for levelling and grading the Granular Sub Base and Wet Mix Macadam at a much faster rate. In the earlier days, dozens were used for grading which is much time-consuming. Thus the motor graders are introduced for the rapid grading process.

Asphalt Mixing Plant

The asphalt mixing plants have been a significant contributor to the advancement of the road construction project with quality materials production. These are plants where asphalt concrete and bitumen-coated aggregates are produced by mixing sand, aggregates, asphalt, minerals, fillers, binders, etc. in the right proportion and temperature. The mixture is kept hot until it is laid in the construction of the road site to avoid premature setting. Depending upon the demand of the project, asphalt mixing plants can either be set up in the construction site or required materials can be transported from remote plants in appropriate storage containers.

Asphalt Paver

This paver machine is known by many names as asphalt paver, paver finisher or paver machine. This construction equipment is used for laying hot asphalt on roads, bridges, parking lots and other such places. It can lay the asphalt flat up to the required or design thickness and provide minor compaction before it is compacted by a vibratory roller.

Road Roller

A road roller is sometimes called a road compactor or simply a roller. This machinery is used for compacting GSB, WMM, and Asphalt concrete in road construction works. The are many types of roller used in road construction work depending upon the compaction needed to the materials. Some examples of roller types are sheep’s foot roller, pneumatic tyre roller, smooth wheeled roller, tandem roller, etc.

Concrete Mixture

Concrete mixture plays a very important role in road construction works. They are primarily used for mixing cement concrete for casting roadside drains, parapet walls, concrete retaining walls, bridges and culverts. Concrete mixtures are extensively used for laying rigid pavement.

Dump Trucks as road construction equipment

The dump trucks are used for transporting and dumping the excavated earth. They are also used for carrying construction materials, equipment, and other resources. In road construction, they are primarily used for carrying and transporting excavated soil, boulders, stone for soling, asphalt concrete, bituminous mixture, GSB and WMM.

Other equipment used for road works

There is some other equipment used along the construction of roads and others after the completion of construction works. Those equipment are either used for road maintenance or repair works. There is the equipment used for road marking, which is most important in road works.

Road Marker

This equipment is used after the completion of road structure construction works. This is to avoid the erasing of newly applied road markers or sticking of patches on them while construction work is going on.

Hand Compactor Roller

Hand compactor rollers are handy for small-scale work. They are used for rolling and compacting lawns, yard work, footpath construction works, and repair works. On the road, they are used in pothole repair work.

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Also, read:

• Wet Mix Macadam: Materials | Specification | Construction Process
• WBM Road: Specifications | Construction | Typical Cross Section
• Understanding Road Camber: Effects On Vehicle Handling And Road Safety