7 Powerful road construction equipment and their uses

 

Equipment used in road construction vary depending on whether a project involves building a new road, re-carpeting a road or just minor road repairs. Here is a list of commonly used road construction equipment:

1.) Motor Grader
Commonly referred to as road grader or a maintainer, motor grader is an equipment used to create flat surfaces for asphalt to be placed on.

Common models consist of three axles, with the engine and cab located above the rear axles at the back end of the vehicle and a third axle at the front of the vehicle – with a long blade in between.

2.) Asphalt Mixing Plant
An asphalt plant is used for the manufacture of asphalt concrete and other forms of coated road-stone used in road construction projects.

It combines mineral aggregates, sand and a filler – in correct proportions, heats the mixture and then coats it with a binder.

A motor grader

The plant then keeps the final product heated to avoid setting before the product is laid down in layers.

3.) Road Roller Machine
Once asphalt is laid down in layers, a roller machine is used to press it down into place. Rollers can be rubber tire rollers, double-drum asphalt rollers or combination rollers and the type of roller used is determined by the mixture used in a road project.

 

4.) Crawler Excavator
Also referred to as diggers, excavators are heavy construction equipment used for excavating earth and rocks and loading them onto a dump trucks.

Excavators consists of a boom, bucket and cab on a rotating platform located above an undercarriage with wheels or tracks. They are capable of performing a wide range of work by changing front attachment.

 

An asphalt mixing plant

 

Road roller

 

 

 

5.) Forklift Truck
Also known as fork truck or lift truck, a forklift is a powered industrial vehicle with an attached prolonged platform that can be lowered to pick an object on or below the ground and raised to move the object.

A forklift was initially used for moving objects in factories but the design has been modified over the years to increase its uses.

A forklift truck.

 

6.) Wheel Loader
A wheel loader, also referred to as front loader, skip loader or bucket loader, is a type of tractor used to move a pile of material from the ground and load it onto a truck or into an open pit.

It consists of a front-mounted square wide bucket joined to the end of two arms used to scoop up materials from the ground without spreading it out.

A wheel loader.

7.) Truck Crane
These types of cranes are usually mounted on the back of a lorry to assist with lifting requirements within a construction site.

They consist of the carrier (called the lower) and lifting component (called the upper), which are joined through a turntable allowing the lifting component to swing from side to side.

Truck cranes are usually compact, fold up, and require negligible mounting space.