Tag Archives: road

Construction of road involves many equipments

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As we all know, the heavy construction equipment are the most important or rather vital component for the making of the modern civilisation. Without these equipments, none of the construction works would have been possible. Be it the construction of a building, or a road, or even a railway line, without the heavy duty construction equipments, the works would not have been done, at least not so swiftly and not without heavy labour. Especially in case of the construction of the roads, these heavy construction equipment help a lot to make such strong, smooth and long roads, that make it possible for us to stay connected to the rest of the world.

The construction equipments required for the construction of roads:

For the preliminary stage, the construction equipments that are needed for the construction of roads are primarily the excavators. It scoops out the sand, earth, and gravel from the ground to make the base for the road. The asphalt spreader make the temperature reach a level so that the asphalt can be regulated to be spread on the roadbed. Then the concrete paving machine spreads and levels the concrete on the roadbed. Some the construction equipments that are used for the construction of the roads are:

  • Air track drill: This machine or construction equipment that has an air operated motor is very suitable for opencast blasting.
  • Chip spreader: This machine spreads the bitumen on the roads and rolls them by a compactor.
  • Cold planers: This road construction equipment removes the concrete, asphalt and bituminous pavement so that the road can be opened to the traffic. This machine is also known as the pavement planer.
  • Compactors: This is a vital construction equipment for the construction of the roads, as this machine compresses the road, the asphalt, the gravels, the soil and the concrete after the road’s base has been made. This is very important for ensuring that the surface of the road is smooth. Rollers, padfoot, steel drums, pull type sheepsfoot etc. Are types of compactors.
  • Curb machine: This machine is used for the continuous creation of the curb and gutter.
  • Crushing machine: This is a very interesting machine that helps in the construction of roads by crushing large rocks into small rocks or rock dust or gravel. It is used for crushing non-abrasive and soft material like gypsum, seeds, coal, limestone or any other soft material. It is of 2 types – a jaw crusher and a cone crusher.
  • Oil distributor: This road construction machine sprays tack coat or a prime coat by its heating system and unique spray bar system.
  • Paver: This machine spreads the asphalt on the road bed, and normally this hot asphalt is brought to the paver through another dump truck.
  • A water truck is also used for the dust control.
  • A sand truck is used for distributing or spreading sand on the icy roads in the winter so that the vehicles do not skit on the roads.

Compaction Rollers- An Important Tool in the Road Construction Industry

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One of the many off-shoots of the construction industry is the road construction industry. Roads- one of the most important instruments of connectivity to be discovered till date. Roads have occupied a pride of place from times immemorial and the presence of good roads has become an integral part of every little regular activity of our lives. And the road construction industry, without a doubt plays a pivotal role in the whole affair.

Compaction Rollers- What Are They? How Is It Used?

Compaction can be said to be one of the most crucial aspect in the entire affair of road construction- the quality of the road that is being constructed depends on how well it has been compacted. Hence, without a doubt, compaction rollers forms an important part of the whole compaction thing.

Before anything else, let us consider the purpose of compaction rollers. As is evident from its christening, compaction rollers are used for the purpose of giving the soil a compact form during the road construction. The compaction roller basically consists of a bulky drum like unit which makes for majority of the compression force, a “propulsion engine” and wheels to set the whole thing in motion.

Now the question that needs addressing is how does the entire procedure work? First of all, the “pad foot drum rollers” are used for the compaction of the substrate initially. Next in line comes the “single smooth drum compactor”, which is used for leveling out the bumps and mounds on the soil, thereby, compacting the soil. And finally, the asphalt is laid on the road, with the help of pavers.

Ensure Your Safety

Compaction rollers are an important part of the road construction- granted. But it has to be kept in mind that like all other construction equipments, it is not hazard free. There are certain precautions that one needs to take before handling the compaction roller.

  • For starters, it is important to assess how much      space you have. It often so happens that during the construction of a      road, there isn’t much space to allow vehicles to pass through. In such      cases, rollers may become the reason of a mishap. Diverting the traffic of      the area is the best alternative that you can come up with at this time.
  • Like all other heavy construction equipment, it is      mandatory to have proper maintenance facilities for compaction rollers.      The roller must be tended to periodically for its smooth operation. It is      often seen that the rollers release exhaust fumes as a result of poor maintenance,      thus posing potential hazard to the environment, the workers and other      people. One could easily avoid this by providing proper maintenance      facilities to the roller.
  • Apart from vehicle drivers, pedestrians also need to      be cautious of the possible hazards arising out of compaction rollers. If      possible, they should be advised against going down that road by diverting      them to another safer route.

Compaction rollers, no doubt form an important part of the road construction arena, provided they are used with a certain amount of precaution.