Early Spring Road Maintenance

[cuttin edge]

We had a couple of sunny warm days in a row and sandy site was turning into a dust storm, was in city so they wanted water… well it rained instead there are a couple of NO DRIVE sink holes now haha

My sister lives on Oshawa, and she has been cleaning out her flower beds. I still can't see the grass here. Only close to the trees and along the edge of the driveway.

 

[ovrszd]

Second day of getting my gravel on. I'll cruise the roads that are done this evening. I'll get some pics. I want to show you guys our annual allotment of gravel......

We're supposed to get some showers this evening. If they don't amount to much the trucks will be running again by tomorrow afternoon. Only two trucks. Hauling about 12 miles from quarry to center of township. So they'll get 9 rounds per day with no problems. 35T per round. 315T per day. I get 3,100T. So ten days if everything goes well. I'm hoping they get done before any substantial rain. Shoulders are soft enough as it is.

 

[Bumpsteer]

Our blade man called me last week, frost out? Yup. Still a few soft spots, overall an excellent job (as usual).

We had just enough rain so the stones got pushed in also.

Ed

 

[cuttin edge]

Went in today for the annual safety meet and greet......Nothing new really same old fire and brimstone. This is the last year for the consultant. Can't wait. She has zero personality an an ass like a pancake in a bag. Our own coordinator is taking full control at the end of this season, and she has some sense, and does not have a life mission to make men's lives as miserable as possible.

 

[cuttin edge]

 

[cuttin edge]

Been doing some grading the last 2 days for Superior industries. They are crazy busy, building and shipping something to Texas. I had one of the little Mauldin maintainers there, easier for going around the steel racks. Ground here is still a bit wet for grading, but their forklifts are having it rough. Thought I was done today, but he wants a bit of gravel down. Plowing snow is not like grading cause my neck is really sore from doing the chicken... right side, left side, forward, gauges... repeat. My new ride is supposed to be at the heavy equipment show in Moncton. Was kinda hoping it would arrive at the shop when I'm around, as I never get to take the paint off the blade, there is always someone else that wants to try it out. I'll try and get some pics of some kind. Maybe my daughter will let me borrow her phone. Been checking the Atlantic Heavy Equipment show's facebook page, but no pictures yet.

 

[ovrszd]

Been doing some grading the last 2 days for Superior industries. They are crazy busy, building and shipping something to Texas. I had one of the little Mauldin maintainers there, easier for going around the steel racks. Ground here is still a bit wet for grading, but their forklifts are having it rough. Thought I was done today, but he wants a bit of gravel down. Plowing snow is not like grading cause my neck is really sore from doing the chicken... right side, left side, forward, gauges... repeat. My new ride is supposed to be at the heavy equipment show in Moncton. Was kinda hoping it would arrive at the shop when I'm around, as I never get to take the paint off the blade, there is always someone else that wants to try it out. I'll try and get some pics of some kind. Maybe my daughter will let me borrow her phone. Been checking the Atlantic Heavy Equipment show's facebook page, but no pictures yet.

Definitely figure out a way to get pics of the new ride.

I spent 4 days running a dozer thru last weekend. My neck was sore from the rough ride. Cut the top off a ridge to build a flat pad. After the first few hours was running of virgin clay soil. the slightest imperfection made for a rough ride. I really enjoy running dirt equipment of any type. My soul is in a grader.

I started a thread in the "dozer" forum here.

 

[Cat 140M AWD]

I’ve started my spring work here in SE. South Dakota started discing road shoulders reclaiming lost gravel and removing the secondary ditch so water drains off the road nicely

 

[20/80]

I’ve started my spring work here in SE. South Dakota started discing road shoulders reclaiming lost gravel and removing the secondary ditch so water drains off the road nicely View attachment 258011View attachment 258012View attachment 258013View attachment 258014

So what do you do with the chewed up material, you just leave it on the shoulder? looks like in the pics that you run over it with your grader, I always grade right to the edge of the road where the ditch meets the shoulder, first round on my roads I have a bit of sod on the shoulder but my stinger blades break it up really well and I just mix it with the gravel, it dries up and blows away, leaves a clean shoulder for water to flow off, we use them discs attachment on a loader for chewing up the gravel/sods on our shoulders on our pave roads, pulls the shoulder on the edge of the pavement, one grader scrapes it off level, another grader finishes the graveled shoulder with proper slope and gets rid off any debris from the Discs, leaves a nice clean shoulder level with the pavement, we do it all as one long train operation effort in the spring on our pave roads, we do about 60kms -35-40 miles a day, 30kms down 30kms back up other side, we are starting next week I will see if I can get some pics of our operation. thanks for sharing some pics

 

[Cat 140M AWD]

So what do you do with the chewed up material, you just leave it on the shoulder? looks like in the pics that you run over it with your grader, I always grade right to the edge of the road where the ditch meets the shoulder, first round on my roads I have a bit of sod on the shoulder but my stinger blades break it up really well and I just mix it with the gravel, it dries up and blows away, leaves a clean shoulder for water to flow off, we use them discs attachment on a loader for chewing up the gravel/sods on our shoulders on our pave roads, pulls the shoulder on the edge of the pavement, one grader scrapes it off level, another grader finishes the graveled shoulder with proper slope and gets rid off any debris from the Discs, leaves a nice clean shoulder level with the pavement, we do it all as one long train operation effort in the spring on our pave roads, we do about 60kms -35-40 miles a day, 30kms down 30kms back up other side, we are starting next week I will see if I can get some pics of our operation. thanks for sharing some pics

I let the disc material set for a week so it dries out then I start pulling it in with the blade incorporating it all in to my road lot of the grass will blow away in the first couple times I blade and then I have a nice clean shoulder and a road that drains well will post pictures once I start pulling this material in.

 

[ovrszd]

I wish I had the "built" roadbeds and excess gravel material to do this kind of maintenance. Never gonna happen on a $1,000 per mile annual budget.

Great pics. Post all you can. I'm always eager to see what others deal with!!!

 

[20/80]

Here are a few pics of our shoulder maintenance and gear we use, the sweeper cleans all the material off the pavement leaving a clean roadway after the retriever and graders finish pulling and smoothing out the shoulders, the roller smoothens and packs the shoulder, not the best pics but gives you a Idea.

 

[cuttin edge]

Here are a few pics of our shoulder maintenance and gear we use, the sweeper cleans all the material off the pavement leaving a clean roadway after the retriever and graders finish pulling and smoothing out the shoulders, the roller smoothens and packs the shoulder, not the best pics but gives you a Idea.

DOT here had to become core certified last year. No more pictures like your 2 guys. See them in full PPE now. Hard hats, vests boots and glasses. I guess they got into a few incidents, and it caught up with them. Used to come up on their crews with no signs, flaggers, no PPE. Now they are full signs, and everything

 

[20/80]

DOT here had to become core certified last year. No more pictures like your 2 guys. See them in full PPE now. Hard hats, vests boots and glasses. I guess they got into a few incidents, and it caught up with them. Used to come up on their crews with no signs, flaggers, no PPE. Now they are full signs, and everything

Yeah, we are a moving operation on a low volume secondary road, so no signs just flashing sign boards and warning ahead boards on the trucks, we were on our noon hour lunch break when I took the pics, the sweeper was just finishing up, Its getting pretty crazy with the safety stuff, insurance companies have everybody terrified, that's the way they want it, they make more money that way, buddy in the roller pics was filling out the papers for the hazard assessment for the next road, he was bringing it to me to sign, lol

 

[cuttin edge]

The consultant at the white hat training today said DOT in the province of NB have had over 2 million in fines, so they are pushing their certification hard.

 

[ovrszd]

I'm sooooo rural redneck. I don't own any PPE. My signs are old bent up signs I found at the scrap yard. Built some tripods from used steel fence posts to fasten them to. I've tried cones but the juvies steel them.

Worst thing I hate about road closed signs is the shoulder damage everyone does driving around them.

No pavement out here.

 

[cuttin edge]

For years, I have pretty much ran the show on my crew, just because of experience. Now they have finally been able to convince me to do it officially. Doing the safety training I see why some of them can be the way they are. They shove how you are responsible for the people on your crew down your throat. I said to her, I am not a white hat, I'm just part of the crew. Not anymore. It is your responsibility to make sure safety procedures are followed. The guy that runs the shop had a break down when all this stuff started, and I can see why. They have started fining the company, and supers. There is an ongoing proceeding in this province because of a death on the jobsite, and the super is up against a possible 20 year prison term if he is found to be responsible.

 

[20/80]

For years, I have pretty much ran the show on my crew, just because of experience. Now they have finally been able to convince me to do it officially. Doing the safety training I see why some of them can be the way they are. They shove how you are responsible for the people on your crew down your throat. I said to her, I am not a white hat, I'm just part of the crew. Not anymore. It is your responsibility to make sure safety procedures are followed. The guy that runs the shop had a break down when all this stuff started, and I can see why. They have started fining the company, and supers. There is an ongoing proceeding in this province because of a death on the jobsite, and the super is up against a possible 20 year prison term if he is found to be responsible.

You will drive yourself crazy trying to follow and enforce every little detail that they want you to do on a job site, every jobsite is different and everybody involved doing the work are not robots they are human and we make mistakes and **** happens, nobody can for see a incident that turns into something bad happening, you just can do what's called "reasonable within the circumstances", just make sure your paperwork is filled out to the letter, in the end that is all they are concerned about, it seems they couldn't care less what happens on a jobsite just as long as the paperwork is filled out right and the work gets done, this keeps the upper management from getting fined, so they think, you look after number 1.

 

[ovrszd]

Getting rain today. My rock haulers are slow as molasses. They've been hauling five weeks and only delivered 1,500 tons. Half done. Based on the forecast they'll probably not haul at all next week.......

 

[cuttin edge]

Raining here as well. Snowed yesterday and this morning. Didn't amount to anything. Snow is pretty much all gone. A few parking lots where it was piled remain. Streets are a mess of pot holes